Title III Would Undermine American Values

While we’ve heard a lot of discussion over the past few weeks about the problems with the Senate immigration bill, there has been very little mention of key aspects of the bill that will affect every working American.

Title III would require every person working in America, including U.S. citizens, to have his or her eligibility to work verified by the Department of Homeland Security using the already overburdened and error-plagued Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS). EEVS creates a massive government database containing extraordinary amounts of personal information about every person in America. Everyone will have to carry a hardened Social Security card, perhaps containing biometric information about the cardholder – essentially a national ID, and present a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license to get any new job. And, if the government’s data is wrong the Senate bill does not allow the individual who is wrongly denied the ability to work to get wages lost due to government error.

In addition, a number of the proposed amendments would deny due process and undermine the values of our country and our Constitution. For example, Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Tex.) inappropriately named “Fairness in Immigration Litigation Act

Given the high caseload faced by America’s federal courts, it is all too likely that many credible immigration appeals would never receive serious review from a judge and therefore would be dismissed without any consideration of their merits. Recent history clearly demonstrates that effective judicial review is needed to ensure that DHS properly enforces the law. Congress must reject this un-American amendment.

Other problematic amendments include an amendment by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) allowing states to designate on driver’s licenses whether or not the carrier is a citizen – likely resulting in discrimination against non-citizens, and several ill-advised “English Only