WSJ Underlines E-Verify Efficiencies

The Wall Street Journal inadvertently gave a boost to E-Verify, the free, online, federal program that confirms whether employees are legally authorized to work in the United States.

The WSJ, one of the media’s staunchest pro-immigration advocates, wrote a story (Small Businesses Say U.S. Background-Check System Has Drawbacks, by Angus Loten and Sarah E. Needleman, July 24, 2013) in which employers falsely claimed that E-Verify is costly and time-consuming, even though it’s free and takes less than two minutes. I’m an E-Verified employee who knows from personal experience how efficient the system is.

Look at the wonderful evidence the story provides; it documents how effective E-Verify is in deterring illegal immigrants from taking jobs Americans would do. In Georgia, where E-Verify is mandatory, restaurant owner Daniel Van Loh dismissed nine dishwashers and a line cook when the program found that they were not work authorized. Now Van Loh will have to recruit Americans to wash dishes – or wash them himself!

An Atlanta landscaper had experiences similar to Van Loh’s. Over the past three weeks, more than 50 illegal immigrants could not pass an E-Verify check. Said owner Scott Whitehead, "Every immigrant who walks through this door is illegal."

Whitehead grudgingly admitted that because he wants to remain in compliance with Georgia law, he’ll now hire only U.S. citizens and may increase his $14 per hour wage.

In other words, E-Verify is doing exactly what it should – keeping aliens out of the job market, forcing employers to hire Americans and, if necessary, pay higher wages.

Thanks to The WSJ for giving E-Verify a national plug that may open many of its readers’ eyes about the program's merits.