E-Verify signs are popping up like mushrooms in every business

Anyone who remotely pays attention to the news media (and I can't say I blame ya if you don't...) knows that immigration is a great big controversy right now. From my cynical viewpoint, I think its going to be an issue that is discussed a lot during the election and then it will pass into the sunset during the first months of the new administraton.

Individual state laws are already taking effect. Arizona has one making it illegal to knowingly hire an illegal alien.

Employers have had an out on that "knowingly" part. Since 1986 the I-9 form came into effect. You had to prove your US citizenship based on your drivers license and your social security card. Anyone could get a drivers license at the time, there was little verification or communication between the states. They certainly didn't care about your immigration status.

Attorneys advised employers that they simply had to collect the information and keep it on file. There was no mechanism to verify anything and an employer could actually put themselves in legal jeopardy by doubting the veracity of a provided ID.

And so it went from 1986 roughly until the present. It was essentially a joke.

There is finally a mechanism that can be used to tie a social security number back to a name, a program called e-verify. Banks have been able to do this for years, but it was done through a private fee-for-use system. Employers now have a free way to verify that the numbers on the card are correct. The state laws are forcing that mechanism to be used.

So every business I've been in today has had very visible posters stating that they use E-verify to make sure that you're really eligible to work. This is something that the US should be protecting - but mechanisms for limited-term working visas that are just as efficient (I know, I'm dreaming) have yet to be created.