Denver, CO - On July 21st, the Denver City Council's Economic Development Committee voted 4 -1 to move forward for a full vote an ordinance that would require all construction companies contracting with Denver to use E-Verify for all new employees.The following is a statement of Julien Ross, Executive Director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition:
"We are disappointed and surprised by the committee's decision to take up an E-Verify system riddled with flaws and unintended consequences. Considering the fact that the national database has over 17.8 million errors, according to the SSA itself, which could affect over 2.5 million American citizens, we hope that the full city council will have better judgment.
"At a time when we must is focus on stimulating the economy, it is important that we do not enact policies that will increase unemployment and jeopardize job security. The Economic Development Committee should be aware that this is especially important in the construction industry, which is just starting to recover and needs our help, not hurdles.
"At the hearing, Councilman Linkhart wisely brought up a recent evaluation of the E-Verify program by Westat, conducted at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, which showed that the inaccuracy rate for unauthorized workers was 54%; demonstrating that the program is effectively random when it comes to flagging actual problem names and numbers! This will cost Coloradans jobs. What employer is going to wait 2 months as you try to resolve faulty data with a giant government bureaucracy?
"Nationally, we have collected hundreds of stories of US citizens and legal immigrants who were adversely affected by E-Verify, which we will gladly share with Councilmembers Nevitt and Faatz, and the rest of the Denver City Council, in hopes that they will make the right decision and vote this short-sighted program down when it comes up for a full vote."
