White House Immigration Plan Likely to Include Mandatory Nationwide E-Verify

An immigration plan being drafted by the White House is likely to include a provision that mandates, nationally, the E-Verify system that prevents businesses from hiring illegal aliens over American citizens.

Sources close to Breitbart News said President Trump’s administration is looking to include provisions of former Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) Legal Workforce Act, which makes the E-Verify system mandatory across the country, to ensure that U.S. jobs are reserved for Americans and U.S. wages are protected from illegal, cheaper foreign competition.

The White House is expected to detail the plan next week. White House officials did not respond to comment request.

Politico, likewise, reported that sources close to the White House confirmed that the administration is weighing an immigration plan that includes mandatory E-Verify.

As Breitbart News reported, the inclusion of mandatory E-Verify in any large-scale immigration plan was a must for Trump’s base of supporters, including for immigration reform leaders, as well as for Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) — two of Trump’s closest populist allies in Congress.

“It is critical that the E-Verify program becomes mandatory and permanent,” Sen. David Perdue said.https://t.co/tjatFkS16g

— John Binder 👽 (@JxhnBinder) May 7, 2019

Gosar recently told Breitbart News that mandatory E-Verify “is fundamental” to any immigration deal to solidify that American workers are hired over illegal aliens.

“E-Verify would help employers know immediately if the employee was lawful,” Gosar said. “This provision is fundamental to reforming our system and making sure only lawful employees are hired.”

It remains unclear which specific elements of Smith’s Legal Workforce Act may be included in the White House immigration plan. For example, sources were unable to confirm if the mandatory E-Verify provision would be retroactive for employers — thus forcing businesses to verify the legal status of their currently employed workers — or whether the program would only apply to future employees.

Mandatory E-Verify continues to be one of the most popular national immigration policies across the party lines and the American electorate. In November 2018 exit polling by Zogby Analytics for FAIR, a total of 75 percent of American voters said they support mandatory E-Verify to prevent businesses from hiring illegal aliens over U.S. workers.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.