The Basic Pilot Program provides participating employers with an  electronic method to verify their employees’ work eligibility. Various Weaknesses Have Undermined the Employment Verification Process, but Opportunities Exist to Enhance It

		Current Employment Verification Process Is Based on Employers’ Review of Documents

In 1986, IRCA established the employment verification process based on  employers’ review of documents presented by employees to prove identity  and work eligibility. Employers must then certify that they have  reviewed the documents presented by their employees to establish identity  and work eligibility and that the documents appear genuine and relate to  the individual presenting them. Form I-9 Process Is Vulnerable to Document and Identity Fraud

Since passage of IRCA in 1986, document and identity fraud have made it  difficult for employers who want to comply with the employment  verification process to ensure they hire only authorized workers. The Number and Variety of Acceptable Documents Hinders Employer Verification Efforts

The number and variety of documents that are acceptable for proving  work eligibility have complicated employer verification efforts under  IRCA. According to DHS officials, the department is  currently assessing possible revisions to the Form I-9 process, including  reducing the number of acceptable work eligibility documents, but has not  established a target time frame for completing this assessment and issuing  regulations on Form I-9 changes. The Basic Pilot Program may enhance the employment verification  process and a mandatory program could assist ICE in targeting its  worksite enforcement efforts. However, weaknesses exist in the current  program. DHS has taken  steps to increase the timeliness and accuracy of information entered into  databases used as part of the Basic Pilot Program and reports, for  example, that data on new immigrants are now typically available for  verification within 10 to 12 days of an immigrant’s arrival in the United  States while, previously, the information was not available for up to 6 to 9  months after arrival. The number of worksite arrests declined by about 84 percent from 2,849 in  fiscal year 1999 to 445 in fiscal year 2003. Difficulties Proving Employer Violations, Collecting Fines, and Detaining Aliens Have Weakened the Worksite Enforcement Program

The difficulties that INS and ICE have experienced in proving that  employers knowingly hired unauthorized workers and in setting and  collecting fine amounts that meaningfully deter employers from knowingly  hiring unauthorized workers have limited the effectiveness of worksite  enforcement efforts. Worksite Enforcement Focus Shifted to Critical Infrastructure Protection after September 11, 2001

In keeping with the primary mission of DHS to combat terrorism, after  September 11, 2001, INS and then ICE has focused its resources for  worksite enforcement on identifying and removing unauthorized workers  from critical infrastructure sites, such as airports and nuclear power  plants, to help reduce vulnerabilities at those sites. The Basic Pilot  Program shows promise for enhancing the employment verification  process and reducing document fraud if implemented on a much larger  scale. Homeland Security: Challenges to Implementing the Immigration  Interior Enforcement Strategy. Immigration and Naturalization Service: Overview of Management and  Program Challenges.
Why GAO Did This Study

The opportunity for employment is one of the most important magnets attracting illegal aliens to the United States. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 established an employment eligibility verification process and a sanctions program for fining employers for noncompliance. Few modifications have been made to the verification process and sanctions program since 1986, and immigration experts state that a more reliable verification process and a strengthened worksite enforcement capacity are needed to help deter illegal immigration. In this testimony, GAO provides preliminary observations from its ongoing assessment of (1) the current employment verification process and (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) priorities and resources for the worksite enforcement program and the challenges it faces in implementing that program.

What GAO Found

The current employment verification (Form I-9) process is based on employers' review of documents presented by new employees to prove their identity and work eligibility. On the Form I-9, employers certify that they have reviewed documents presented by their employees and that the documents appear genuine and relate to the individual presenting the documents. However, document fraud (use of counterfeit documents) and identity fraud (fraudulent use of valid documents or information belonging to others) have undermined the employment verification process by making it difficult for employers who want to comply with the process to ensure they hire only authorized workers and easier for unscrupulous employers to knowingly hire unauthorized workers. In addition, the number and variety of documents acceptable for proving work eligibility has hindered employer verifications efforts. In 1998, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), proposed revising the Form I-9 process, particularly to reduce the number of acceptable work eligibility documents, but DHS has not yet finalized the proposal. The Basic Pilot Program, a voluntary program through which participating employers electronically verify employees' work eligibility, shows promise to enhance the current employment verification process, help reduce document fraud, and assist ICE in better targeting its worksite enforcement efforts. Yet, several current weaknesses in the pilot program's implementation, such as its inability to detect identity fraud and DHS delays in entering data into its databases, could adversely affect increased use of the pilot program, if not addressed. The worksite enforcement program has been a low priority under both INS and ICE. For example, in fiscal year 1999 INS devoted about 9 percent of its total investigative agents' time to worksite enforcement, while in fiscal year 2003 it allocated about 4 percent. ICE officials told us that the agency has experienced difficulties in proving employer violations and setting and collecting fine amounts that meaningfully deter employers from knowingly hiring unauthorized workers. In addition, INS and then ICE shifted its worksite enforcement focus to critical infrastructure protection after September 11, 2001.