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May 24, 2007

REAL ID Trojan Horse vote possible today

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Subject: REAL ID Trojan Horse vote possible today

Yesterday we told you that the immigration bill being considered in the Senate contains provisions that could entangle all U.S. employers and employees in a bureaucratic nightmare similar to what has happened with the terrorist watch list.

This bill contains no direct mention of the REAL ID Act, or the de facto national identity card the REAL ID Act would create, but it seems fairly clear to us that REAL ID is woven into this bill, even though it is far from clear that the REAL ID Act can even be implemented.

Under this legislation you are going to have to get a green-light from the federal government if you want to hire someone, or if someone wants to hire you.

But what if mistakes are made by this federal system, and you can’t hire someone, or be hired, until the feds correct their errors? What if they NEVER correct their mistakes?

You will become a non-person.

The bill in question is about 1,000 pages long. It is also extremely complicated. I have copied one small section relating to electronic verification of identity below my signature to give you a taste of it. But despite its length and complexity this bill is being rushed to a vote, perhaps as soon as today.

John Fund, in a Wall Street Journal editorial on Monday makes the following observation:

“Senators did not even receive the bill draft until midnight Saturday. After a test vote scheduled for today, Majority Leader Harry Reid is planning a final vote on the bill this Thursday, only one week after the compromise was struck. Shouldn’t senators have time to actually read the bill they’re being asked to vote on?”

Notice that Fund is yet another person who has picked up on the “read the bills” concept that we have been pushing with our “Read the Bills Act.”

It is very unlikely that the Senate is going to read this bill before they vote on it. And even if they did read it the bill is so complex it is almost impossible to understand.

Please send Congress a message right now asking them to strip all REAL ID related provisions from this, or any other immigration bill. If you can please follow up with a phone call, and deliver the same message. The phone numbers you need to contact your Senators will be on the screen when you send your message.

You can send your message about the immigration bill here.

Please also consider sending a message asking Congress to introduce and pass Downsize DC’s “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA). You can mention the complicated 1,000 page immigration bill as yet another reason why the “Read the Bills Act” needs to be passed as soon as possible.

If you don’t know about RTBA you can learn about it here.
If you already know about RTBA you can send your message about it here.

Thank you for being a DC Downsizer.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Here’s a section of the immigration bill for you to wrap your mind around . . .

`(d) Electronic Employment Verification System-

`(1) REQUIREMENT FOR SYSTEM- The Secretary, in cooperation with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall implement an Electronic Employment Verification System (referred to in this subsection as the `System’) to determine whether–

`(A) the identifying information submitted by an individual is consistent with the information maintained by the Secretary or the Commissioner of Social Security; and

`(B) such individual is eligible for employment in the United States.

`(2) REQUIREMENT FOR PARTICIPATION- The Secretary shall require all employers in the United States to participate in the System, with respect to all employees hired by the employer on or after the date that is 18 months after the date that not less than $400,000,000 have been appropriated and made available to implement this subsection.

`(3) OTHER PARTICIPATION IN SYSTEM- Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the Secretary has the authority–

`(A) to permit any employer that is not required to participate in the System under paragraph (2) to participate in the System on a voluntary basis; and

`(B) to require any employer or class of employers to participate on a priority basis in the System with respect to individuals employed as of, or hired after, the date of enactment of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007–

`(i) if the Secretary designates such employer or class of employers as a critical employer based on an assessment of homeland security or national security needs; or

`(ii) if the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe that the employer has engaged in material violations of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a).

`(4) REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY- The Secretary shall notify the employer or class of employers in writing regarding the requirement for participation in the System under paragraph (3)(B) not less than 60 days prior to the effective date of such requirement. Such notice shall include the training materials described in paragraph (8)(E)(v).

`(5) REGISTRATION OF EMPLOYERS- An employer shall register the employer’s participation in the System in the manner prescribed by the Secretary prior to the date the employer is required or permitted to submit information with respect to an employee under this subsection.

`(6) ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE- A registered employer shall be permitted to utilize any technology that is consistent with this section and with any regulation or guidance from the Secretary to streamline the procedures to facilitate compliance with–

`(A) the attestation requirement in subsection (c); and

`(B) the employment eligibility verification requirements in this subsection.

`(7) CONSEQUENCE OF FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE- If an employer is required to participate in the System and fails to comply with the requirements of the System with respect to an employee–

`(A) such failure shall be treated as a violation of subsection (a)(1)(B); and

`(B) a rebuttable presumption is created that the employer has violated subsection (a)(1)(A), however, such presumption may not apply to a prosecution under subsection (f)(1).

`(8) DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SYSTEM-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall, through the System–

`(i) respond to each inquiry made by a registered employer through the Internet or other electronic media, or over a toll-free telephone line regarding an individual’s identity and eligibility for employment in the United States; and

`(ii) maintain a record of each such inquiry and the information provided in response to such inquiry.

`(B) INITIAL INQUIRY-

`(i) INFORMATION REQUIRED- A registered employer shall, with respect to the hiring, or recruiting or referring for a fee, any individual for employment in the United States, obtain from the individual and record on the form described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i)–

`(I) the individual’s name and date of birth and, if the individual was born in the United States, the State in which such individual was born;

`(II) the individual’s social security account number;

`(III) the employment identification number of the individual’s employer during any one of the 5 most recently completed calendar years; and

`(IV) in the case of an individual who does not attest that the individual is a national of the United States under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i), such alien identification or authorization number that the Secretary shall require.

`(ii) SUBMISSION TO SYSTEM- A registered employer shall submit an inquiry through the System to seek confirmation of the individual’s identity and eligibility for employment in the United States–

`(I) not later than 3 days after the date of the hiring, or recruiting or referring for a fee, of the individual (as the case may be); or

`(II) in the case of an employee hired by a critical employer designated by the Secretary under paragraph (3)(B) at such time as the Secretary shall specify.

`(iii) EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENTS-

`(I) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE- An employer shall provide the employer identification number issued to such employer to the individual, upon request, for purposes of providing the information under clause (i)(III).

`(II) REQUIREMENT TO AFFIRMATIVELY STATE A LACK OF RECENT EMPLOYMENT- An individual providing information under clause (i)(III) who was not employed in the United States during any of the 5 most recently completed calendar years shall affirmatively state on the form described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) that no employer identification number is provided because the individual was not employed in the United States during such period.

`(C) INITIAL RESPONSE- Not later than 10 days after an employer submits an inquiry to the System regarding an individual, the Secretary shall provide, through the System, to the employer–

`(i) if the System is able to confirm the individual’s identity and eligibility for employment in the United States, a confirmation notice, including the appropriate codes on such confirmation notice; or

`(ii) if the System is unable to confirm the individual’s identity or eligibility for employment in the United States, and after a secondary manual verification has been conducted, a tentative nonconfirmation notice, including the appropriate codes on such tentative nonconfirmation notice.

`(D) CONFIRMATION OR NONCONFIRMATION-

`(i) CONFIRMATION UPON INITIAL INQUIRY- If an employer receives a confirmation notice under paragraph (C)(i) for an individual, the employer shall record, on the form described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i), the appropriate code provided in such notice.

`(ii) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION- If an employer receives a tentative nonconfirmation notice under paragraph (C)(ii) for an individual, the employer shall inform such individual of the issuance of such notice in writing, on a form prescribed by the Secretary not later than 3 days after receiving such notice.

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