Andrew Good: Pennsylvania workers need wider E-Verify mandates

Pennsylvania lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would require all state and local government contractors, and their subcontractors, to verify that newly hired workers are either American citizens or legal immigrants. Contractors that refuse to do so would face stiff fines.

If passed, this bill would prevent companies from using illegal immigrants as a source of cheap, exploitable labor — and thus boost Pennsylvania workers’ bargaining power when negotiating for better wages and benefits.

House Bill 247 would require all “public works contractors and subcontractors” to use E-Verify, an online service the federal government provides to ensure job-seekers have legal authority to work in the United States. It’s free, completely online and usually verifies workers’ status within seconds.

E-Verify works by cross-checking the identification information of new hires against records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration. All employers have to do is input data from a worker’s I-9 form — which employers are already required to collect — into the online portal. Over 98% of potential employees are cleared to work almost immediately, while the remainder are tagged for additional review — or flagged as unauthorized to work.

Because it’s so easy to navigate, almost 1 million businesses nationwide use it, and that number grows by around 1,500 every week. More than 20,000 Pennsylvania businesses already use E-Verify — some voluntarily, some in response to an existing law that requires all construction companies to enroll in the system.

E-Verify is enormously effective at preventing illegal hiring. Over 20 states, including Pennsylvania, require at least some employers to use the system, and a handful of states have mandated E-Verify for all employers. These universal mandate states have generally seen their illegal immigration populations plummet. For example, in Mississippi, the number of illegal workers fell 59% after the state mandated universal E-Verify. Arizona saw a 24% drop.

That tightens the labor market — and gives legal workers more leverage to bargain for higher wages. American-born Hispanic men see their average hourly earnings jump after states implement E-Verify mandates, according to research from one Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas economist. That makes sense, since it’s these men who most directly compete against illegal immigrants for jobs.

Of course, a law isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on if it’s not strictly enforced. Over 63% of the roughly 140,000 illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania are employed. A quarter of them work in construction and manufacturing.

Obviously, that means some firms are failing to comply with the mandate — and either knowingly or unwittingly employing illegal workers.

Preventing unfair labor market competition is an issue that both parties can — and have — agreed on. The Pennsylvania law that mandated E-Verify for construction firms enjoyed overwhelming support from both Republicans and Democrats.

The wisdom of such measures is obvious. This past summer, when sections of I-95 were destroyed, Pennsylvania’s building trades workers — including many union laborers — stepped up and reopened six lanes of traffic in just 12 days, defying projections that the repairs would take months to complete.

That sort of quick progress depends on having a skilled blue-collar workforce that can attract talented people. But if wages are depressed due to unfair competition from illegal immigrants, then talented folks won’t find careers in the building trades attractive.

The same logic holds true for other professions, of course. That’s why House Bill 247 is desperately needed — it’d require any company working on government contracts to use E-Verify, regardless of their industry.

E-Verify mandates, when properly enforced, curb illegal immigration and protect American workers. Pennsylvanians of all political backgrounds would benefit from wider use of the system.

Andrew Good is director of state government relations at NumbersUSA.