Delgado Passes Bill to Increase Safeguards Against E-Verify System Abuses

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Employees required to use the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) E-Verify work authorization system will now have more opportunities to correct documentation errors under a new law passed by state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, D-Chicago.

“As states across the country take more drastic measures to hurt immigrants and their families, Illinois is pushing back across the board, but especially with this legislation,” Delgado said. “Current practice doesn’t give workers any advance notice of errors, and for immigrants not familiar with our employment landscape, it can be daunting. This legislation could mean the difference between providing for their families and being separated from them.” 

Senate Bill 1515 requires employers who use the USCIS E-Verify work authorization system to check the work authorization status of a new hire must provide at least 30 days of unpaid leave to employees to correct mismatched documents. Comparing submitted I-9 forms with Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Agency document, E-Verify is used to confirm if someone is authorized to work in the United States. 

Current law does not allow employers who choose to use E-Verify to explicitly discriminate against hirees based on their actual or perceived immigration status. Further Notice Action documents are available to those found to have errors on employment documents. 

“Many constituents have expressed pervasive problems with reporting these documentation errors and their employer’s responses,” Delgado said. “We wanted to make sure that notification was explicit, employer’s use of errors was not disingenuous or retaliatory, and workers had enough time to correct these errors. This commonsense legislation will go far in protecting immigrant workers and pushing back against extremist attempts to endanger their families.”