Rep. Calvert Responds to New GAO Report on the Workforce and Immigration

Rep. Calvert Responds to New GAO Report on the Workforce and Immigration

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the General Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report regarding the current employer verification system and provided recommendations on how to improve it. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) is the author of H.R. 19, which would make the Basic Pilot Program mandatory for all employers nation-wide. The Basic Pilot Program was a major focus of the GAO study.

In response to the study, Rep. Calvert issued the following statement:

"There is a growing consensus in America that we must improve our employee verification system and turn off the job-magnet, which is the major cause of illegal immigration. The Basic Pilot Program is the only electronic verification system that automatically checks the name and Social Security Number of all new employees. People need to understand that a mandatory electronic employee verification system will be included in any comprehensive immigration bill that Congress considers and the Basic Pilot Program is the only verification system currently operating. The Basic Pilot Program is available to all employers on a voluntary system and should be made mandatory.

"I welcome the GAO study and appreciate their recommendations on how to improve the Basic Pilot Program. I would like to see their recommendation implemented by the Department of Homeland Security in order to prepare the Basic Pilot Program for mandatory use."

http://calvert.house.gov/pressreleases.asp?ARTICLE4024=10001