"The state legislature shall follow the Arizona law as closely as allowed by the Colorado state constitution," the Colorado proposal reads. "The state legislature shall include provisions for penalties and fines, responsibilities for enforcement and audit, timetables for phase-in of the law over three years for companies with fewer than 50 employees, and prohibitions on the use of independent contractors to intentionally avoid compliance with the law."

Tancredo ballot measure would require employers to verify immigration status of all new hires – The Denver Post

Employers may use the Form I-9 with the revision date of either August 7, 2009 or February 2, 2009. The revision dates are located on the bottom right-hand portion of the form.

Our clients can obtain the new version of Form I-9 and “Handbook for Employers” by logging in and visiting the Document Library. Form I-9 is also downloadable from our home page.

The rule is scheduled to go into effect on September 8, 2009. Once in effect, federal contractors must enroll in E-Verify within 30 calendar days after being awarding a covered contract. Most contractors must then start using E-Verify within 90 days from the date of E-Verify enrollment.

E-Verify & I-9 News » Blog Archive » DHS wins E-Verify Federal Contractor Lawsuit

Macomb will soon become the first county in Michigan to weed out illegal aliens from its work force and from the rank and file of its vendors and contractors.

County won’t hire illegals – The Macomb Daily News: Breaking news coverage for Macomb County, Michigan

Many members of Congress want to expand E-Verify to all employers, as a way to end the “jobs magnet” for illegal immigration. This “could open up thousands of American jobs to workers with legal status,” said Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C.

Pressure growing to expand E-Verify – Jacksonville Business Journal:

The Chamber argues, in their brief, that state laws governing immigration issues create a “crazy-quilt” patchwork system of laws around the country that is unfair to both employers and employees. Additionally, the petition claims that federal law completely preempts such state and local laws.

The Chamber of Commerce and the ACLU argue that state and local governments cannot legislate in the area of employment enforcement. The legal term for this argument is “field preemption.” However this claim that only a small cadre of federal agents can participate in the enforcement of citizenship and immigration laws is contradicted by the plain language of the federal code, which expressly authorized a system of cooperative federalism that describes the areas in which states and localities may act. It is this system that creates an amazingly uniform system of state and local laws. Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal appeals court has ever agreed with the Chamber’s theory.

The petition also recognized that laws such as Arizona’s are very popular with the electorate, claiming, “In the first three months of 2009 alone, over 1,000 immigration-related bills and resolutions were introduced in all 50 states. At least 150 of these bills related specifically to employment, and 40 such bills have been enacted in 28 states since 2007.” Such a statement is an ironic testament to the work of IRLI with legislators all over the country, for whom IRLI’s model legislation has become an important baseline for state legislatures. One of IRLI’s main charitable purposes is to advise the citizenry on the proper form for effective laws that will not conflict with the federal code. The model laws are available here.

[Republished from the Immigration Reform Law Institute "State and Local Legislation Bulletin," Issue 26. IRLI is a public interest law firm that provides technical legislative and legal defense services to assist state and local jurisdictions draft and defend laws that are worded appropriately, protect principles of federalism and the liberties of citizens, and respect the constitutional rights of all. Until the federal government effectively enforces our immigration laws, it is in citizens' best interest that states and cities play an active and cooperative role. IRLI is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) educational charity. Donations to support IRLI's legal advocacy work are tax-deductible and can now be made on-line.

As a Designated Agent of the E-Verify system, VerifyI9.com represents numerous small businesses including restaurants. Our low-volume employers simply fax us the completed I-9 form for new hires. We return the E-Verify authorization by email. All can be done in a couple of hours for less than $5 per new employee.

There may be some bugs to work out with the new South Carolina law but, with our E-Verify program for small business, compliance is a breeze.

Even though he’s happy to comply with the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act, he [restaurant owner Price Beall] said, completing the new verification process has proven frustrating, time-consuming and costly.

He estimates an office worker will have to devote three hours per week overseeing the issue, which could cost $5,000 to $6,000 per year.

islandpacket.com | Businesses, lawyers grapple with state’s new immigration law

[In a September 2008 report,] E-Verify was shown as 99.5 percent accurate with more than 1,000 employers voluntarily signing up per week. According to the most recent official study of the program by Westat, these numbers are steadily improving and E-Verify may to date be the most successful interior border program in place.

E-Verify: Challenges and Opportunities | Center for Immigration Studies

In April, ICE implemented a new, comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation’s lawful workforce. Under this strategy, ICE is focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by knowingly employing illegal workers. Last week, ICE announced as part of this initiative, 652 businesses around the country would be audited to determine their compliance.

Krispy Kreme fined after I-9 audit

Sen. Vitter’s amendment would prevent the further delay to the Social Security Administration’s No-Match letter program. No-Match letters are sent out by the SSA notifying employers that they’ve reported income where the social security and the name of the employee don’t match. Often, a no-match occurs when an employer has hired an illegal alien who used falsified documents during the hiring process. The Bush Administration strengthened the No-Match program making it easier for employers to fire employees when a no-match occurs, but the Obama Administration has killed the the Bush rule.

Senate Upholds No-Match — Would Supercede Napolitano’s New Stop Order | NumbersUSA – For Lower Immigration Levels