Social Security rarely uses E-Verify

The Obama and Bush administrations pushed E-Verify as a key component to helping businesses hire legal workers.

All federal agencies are required to check their new hires against the system. As of September, federal contractors also are required to check new employees. Some states have gone so far as to require all businesses to check new employees.

A mandatory verification system is almost certain to be a part of any immigration bill enacted in Congress, and the penalties for failure to use the system are likely to be severe.

“When this happens in the government sector, well, the upshot is an IG report. But in the private sector, you’re talking about investigations and penalties,” Mr. Harper said.