WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today introduced the Permanent E-Verify Act, legislation to make the E-Verify program permanent by removing the termination provision that has required Congress to repeatedly act to extend the program. Making the E-Verify program permanent is the first step in making the program mandatory nationwide. Without legislative action, E-Verify is currently set to expire on September 30, 2019. A one-pager of the legislation is available here.
“Last month, a record number of 144,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the southern border, marking the highest monthly amount in more than thirteen years,” Romney said. “Congress needs to act now to address our illegal immigration crisis by closing legal loopholes and removing the magnets—like illegal employment—that drive illegal immigration. My home state of Utah has already taken a step to reduce illegal employment by requiring employers to use E-Verify. I urge my colleagues to take action on this important legislation to make E-Verify permanent, and continue working on long term fixes to secure our border, update our asylum and trafficking laws, and institute mandatory E-Verify nationwide.”