II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 71 

To expand the use of E-Verify to hold employers accountable, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 27, 2021 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Ms. ERNST, Mr. INHOFE, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. 

CAPITO, Mr. COTTON, Mr. LEE, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. 

THUNE, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To expand the use of E-Verify to hold employers accountable, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Permanent reauthorization. 

Sec. 3. Mandatory use of E-Verify. 

Sec. 4. Consequences of failure to participate. 

Sec. 5. Preemption; liability. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 71 IS

Sec. 6. Expanded use of E-Verify. 

Sec. 7. Reverification. 

Sec. 8. Holding employers accountable. 

Sec. 9. Information sharing. 

Sec. 10. Form I–9 process. 

Sec. 11. Algorithm. 

Sec. 12. Identity theft. 

Sec. 13. Small Business Demonstration Program. 

Sec. 14. Employer Compliance Inspection Center. 

1 SEC. 2. PERMANENT REAUTHORIZATION. 

2 Section 401(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

3 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Pub4 lic Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘Unless the Congress otherwise provides, the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security shall terminate a pilot pro7 gram on September 30, 2015.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. MANDATORY USE OF E-VERIFY. 

9 (a) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—Section 402(e)(1) of 

10 the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsi11 bility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is amended— 

12 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND

15 AGENCIES.—Each department and agency of 

16 the Federal Government shall participate in E17 Verify by complying with the terms and condi18 tions set forth in this section.’’; and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, that 

20 conducts hiring in a State’’ and all that follows and 

21 inserting ‘‘shall participate in E-Verify by complying 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 71 IS

1 with the terms and conditions set forth in this sec2 tion.’’. 

3 (b) FEDERAL CONTRACTORS; CRITICAL EMPLOY4 ERS.—Section 402(e) of such Act, as amended by sub5 section (a), is further amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

7 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(2) UNITED STATES CONTRACTORS.—Any per11 son, employer, or other entity that enters into a con12 tract with the Federal Government shall participate 

13 in E-Verify by complying with the terms and condi14 tions set forth in this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL EMPLOYERS.— 

16 Not later than 7 days after the date of the enact17 ment of this paragraph, the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) conduct an assessment of employers 

20 that are critical to the homeland security or na21 tional security needs of the United States; 

22 ‘‘(B) designate and publish a list of em23 ployers and classes of employers that are 

24 deemed to be critical pursuant to the assess25 ment conducted under subparagraph (A); and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 71 IS

1 ‘‘(C) require that critical employers des2 ignated pursuant to subparagraph (B) partici3 pate in E-Verify by complying with the terms 

4 and conditions set forth in this section not later 

5 than 30 days after the Secretary makes such 

6 designation.’’. 

7 (c) ALL EMPLOYERS.—Section 402 of such Act, as 

8 amended by this section, is further amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub10 section (g); and 

11 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(f) MANDATORY PARTICIPATION IN E-VERIFY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

15 and (3), all employers in the United States shall 

16 participate in E-Verify, with respect to all employees 

17 recruited, referred, or hired by such employer on or 

18 after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 

19 enactment of this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(2) USE OF CONTRACT LABOR.—Any employer 

21 who uses a contract, subcontract, or exchange to ob22 tain the labor of an individual in the United States 

23 shall certify in such contract, subcontract, or ex24 change that the employer, and all parties to such 

25 contract, subcontract, or exchange, use E-Verify. If 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 71 IS

1 such certification is not included in a contract, sub2 contract, or exchange, the employer shall be deemed 

3 to have violated paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(3) INTERIM MANDATORY PARTICIPATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before the date set 

6 forth in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home7 land Security shall require any employer or 

8 class of employers to participate in E-Verify, 

9 with respect to all employees recruited, referred, 

10 or hired by such employer if the Secretary has 

11 reasonable cause to believe that the employer is 

12 or has been engaged in a material violation of 

13 section 274A of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a). 

15 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 14 

16 days before an employer or class of employers 

17 is required to begin participating in E-Verify 

18 pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

19 shall provide such employer or class of employ20 ers with— 

21 ‘‘(i) written notification of such re22 quirement; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) appropriate training materials to 

24 facilitate compliance with such require25 ment.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 71 IS

1 SEC. 4. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(e)(5) of the Illegal 

3 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

4 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as redesignated by section 

5 3(b)(1), is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(5) CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PARTICI7 PATE.—If a person or other entity that is required 

8 to participate in E-Verify fails to comply with the 

9 requirements under this title with respect to an indi10 vidual— 

11 ‘‘(A) such failure shall be treated as a vio12 lation of section 274A(a)(1)(B) of the Immigra13 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) with 

14 respect to such individual; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a rebuttable presumption is created 

16 that the person or entity has violated section 

17 274A(a)(1)(A) of such Act.’’. 

18 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 274A of the Immigration 

19 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (e)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

23 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

24 (i), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para25 graph (10),’’ after ‘‘in an amount’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 71 IS

1 (II) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘not 

2 less than $250 and not more than 

3 $2,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 

4 $2,500 and not more than $5,000’’; 

5 (III) in clause (ii), by striking 

6 ‘‘not less than $2,000 and not more 

7 than $5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less 

8 than $5,000 and not more than 

9 $10,000’’; and 

10 (IV) in clause (iii), by striking 

11 ‘‘not less than $3,000 and not more 

12 than $10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less 

13 than $10,000 and not more than 

14 $25,000’’; and 

15 (ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(B) may require the person or entity to 

18 take such other remedial action as is appro19 priate.’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘, subject to para22 graphs (10) through (12),’’ after ‘‘in an 

23 amount’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 71 IS

1 (ii) by striking ‘‘$100 and not more 

2 than $1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000 and 

3 not more than $25,000’’; 

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘the size of the busi5 ness of the employer being charged, the 

6 good faith of the employer’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘the good faith of the employer being 

8 charged’’; and 

9 (iv) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: ‘‘Failure by a person or entity to 

11 utilize the employment eligibility 

12 verification system as required by law, or 

13 providing information to the system that 

14 the person or entity knows or reasonably 

15 believes to be false, shall be treated as a 

16 violation of subsection (a)(1)(A).’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(10) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY.—In the 

19 case of the imposition of a civil penalty under para20 graph (4)(A) with respect to a violation of para21 graph (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a) for hiring, con22 tinuation of employment, recruitment, or referral by 

23 a person or entity and, in the case of the imposition 

24 of a civil penalty under paragraph (5) for a violation 

25 of subsection (a)(1)(B) for hiring, recruitment, or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 71 IS

1 referral by a person or entity, the penalty otherwise 

2 imposed may be waived or reduced if the violator es3 tablishes that the violator acted in good faith. 

4 ‘‘(11) AUTHORITY TO DEBAR EMPLOYERS FOR

5 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a person or entity 

7 is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Se8 curity to be a repeat violator of paragraph 

9 (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a), or is convicted 

10 of a crime under this section, the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security shall debar such person or 

12 entity from the receipt of Federal contracts, 

13 grants, or cooperative agreements in accordance 

14 with the debarment standards and pursuant to 

15 the debarment procedures set forth in the Fed16 eral Acquisition Regulation. 

17 ‘‘(B) DOES NOT HAVE CONTRACT, GRANT, 

18 AGREEMENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security debars a person or entity in accord20 ance with this paragraph, and such person or 

21 entity does not hold a Federal contract, grant, 

22 or cooperative agreement, the Administrator of 

23 General Services shall include the person or en24 tity on the List of Parties Excluded from Fed25 eral Procurement for 5 years. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 71 IS

1 ‘‘(C) HAS CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE2 MENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

3 debars a person or entity in accordance with 

4 this paragraph, and such person or entity holds 

5 a Federal contract, grant, or cooperative agree6 ment, the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) shall notify all agencies or depart8 ments holding a contract, grant, or cooper9 ative agreement with the debarred person 

10 or entity of such debarment; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) after soliciting and considering 

12 the views of all such agencies and depart13 ments, may waive the operation of this 

14 paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(D) REVIEW.—Any decision to debar a 

16 person or entity under in accordance with this 

17 paragraph shall be reviewable pursuant to part 

18 9.4 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.’’; 

19 and 

20 (2) in subsection (f)— 

21 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person or enti24 ty which engages in a pattern or practice of viola25 tions of subsection (a)(1) or (2) shall be fined not 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 71 IS

1 more than $30,000 for each unauthorized alien with 

2 respect to which such a violation occurs, imprisoned 

3 for not less than 1 year and not more than 10 years, 

4 or both, notwithstanding the provisions of any other 

5 Federal law relating to fine levels.’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Attor7 ney General’’ each place it appears and insert8 ing ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’. 

9 SEC. 5. PREEMPTION; LIABILITY. 

10 Section 402 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

11 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

12 note), as amended by this Act, is further amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON STATE AUTHORITY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) PREEMPTION.—A State or local govern16 ment may not prohibit a person or other entity from 

17 verifying the employment authorization of new hires 

18 or current employees through E-Verify. 

19 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY.—A person or other entity that 

20 participates in E-Verify may not be held liable under 

21 any Federal, State, or local law for any employment22 related action taken with respect to the wrongful 

23 termination of an individual in good faith reliance on 

24 information provided through E-Verify.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 71 IS

1 SEC. 6. EXPANDED USE OF E-VERIFY. 

2 Section 403(a)(3)(A) of the Illegal Immigration Re3 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

4 1324a note) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(i) BEFORE HIRING.—The person or 

7 other entity may verify the employment eli8 gibility of an individual through E-Verify 

9 before the individual is hired, recruited, or 

10 referred if the individual consents to such 

11 verification. If an employer receives a ten12 tative nonconfirmation for an individual, 

13 the employer shall comply with procedures 

14 prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security, including— 

16 ‘‘(I) providing the individual em17 ployees with private, written notifica18 tion of the finding and written refer19 ral instructions; 

20 ‘‘(II) allowing the individual to 

21 contest the finding; and 

22 ‘‘(III) not taking adverse action 

23 against the individual if the individual 

24 chooses to contest the finding. 

25 ‘‘(ii) AFTER EMPLOYMENT OFFER.— 

26 The person or other entity shall verify the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 71 IS

1 employment eligibility of an individual 

2 through E-Verify not later than 3 days 

3 after the date of the hiring, recruitment, or 

4 referral, as the case may be. 

5 ‘‘(iii) EXISTING EMPLOYEES.—Not 

6 later than 1 year after the date of the en7 actment of the Accountability Through 

8 Electronic Verification Act, the Secretary 

9 shall require all employers to use E-Verify 

10 to verify the identity and employment eligi11 bility of any individual who has not been 

12 previously verified by the employer through 

13 E-Verify.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. REVERIFICATION. 

15 Section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

16 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

17 note), as amended by section 6, is further amended by 

18 adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) REVERIFICATION.—Each person or other 

20 entity participating in E-Verify shall use the E21 Verify confirmation system to reverify the work au22 thorization of any individual not later than 3 days 

23 after the date on which such individual’s employ24 ment authorization is scheduled to expire (as indi25 cated by the Secretary or the documents provided to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 71 IS

1 the employer pursuant to section 274A(b) of the Im2 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b))), 

3 in accordance with the procedures set forth in this 

4 subsection and section 402.’’. 

5 SEC. 8. HOLDING EMPLOYERS ACCOUNTABLE. 

6 (a) CONSEQUENCES OF NONCONFIRMATION.—Sec7 tion 403(a)(4)(C) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

8 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

9 note) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(C) CONSEQUENCES OF NONCONFIRMA11 TION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION AND NOTIFICA13 TION.—If the person or other entity re14 ceives a final nonconfirmation regarding an 

15 individual, the employer shall imme16 diately— 

17 ‘‘(I) terminate the employment, 

18 recruitment, or referral of the indi19 vidual; and 

20 ‘‘(II) submit to the Secretary any 

21 information relating to the individual 

22 that the Secretary determines would 

23 assist the Secretary in enforcing or 

24 administering United States immigra25 tion laws. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 71 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) CONSEQUENCE OF CONTINUED

2 EMPLOYMENT.—If the person or other en3 tity continues to employ, recruit, or refer 

4 the individual after receiving final noncon5 firmation, a rebuttable presumption is cre6 ated that the employer has violated section 

7 274A of the Immigration and Nationality 

8 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a).’’. 

9 (b) INTERAGENCY NONCONFIRMATION REPORT.— 

10 Section 405 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi11 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) 

12 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY NONCONFIRMATION REPORT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of U.S. Citi15 zenship and Immigration Services shall submit a 

16 weekly report to the Assistant Secretary of Immigra17 tion and Customs Enforcement that includes, for 

18 each individual who receives final nonconfirmation 

19 through E-Verify— 

20 ‘‘(A) the name of such individual; 

21 ‘‘(B) his or her Social Security number or 

22 alien file number; 

23 ‘‘(C) the name and contact information for 

24 his or her current employer; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 71 IS

1 ‘‘(D) any other critical information that 

2 the Assistant Secretary determines to be appro3 priate. 

4 ‘‘(2) USE OF WEEKLY REPORT.—The Secretary 

5 of Homeland Security shall use information provided 

6 under paragraph (1) to enforce compliance of the 

7 United States immigration laws.’’. 

8 SEC. 9. INFORMATION SHARING. 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security, the Com11 missioner of Internal Revenue, the Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly 

13 establish a program to share information among such 

14 agencies that may or could lead to the identification of 

15 unauthorized aliens (as defined under section 274A(h)(3) 

16 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1324a(h)(3)), including no-match letters and any informa18 tion in the earnings suspense file. 

19 SEC. 10. FORM I–9 PROCESS. 

20 Not later than 9 months after date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub22 mit a report to Congress that contains recommendations 

23 for— 

24 (1) modifying and simplifying the process by 

25 which employers are required to complete and retain 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 71 IS

1 a Form I–9 for each employee pursuant to section 

2 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

3 U.S.C. 1324a); and 

4 (2) eliminating the process described in para5 graph (1). 

6 SEC. 11. ALGORITHM. 

7 Section 404(d) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

8 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

9 note) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(d) DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SYSTEM.—E11 Verify shall be designed and operated— 

12 ‘‘(1) to maximize its reliability and ease of use 

13 by employers; 

14 ‘‘(2) to insulate and protect the privacy and se15 curity of the underlying information; 

16 ‘‘(3) to maintain appropriate administrative, 

17 technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unau18 thorized disclosure of personal information; 

19 ‘‘(4) to respond accurately to all inquiries made 

20 by employers on whether individuals are authorized 

21 to be employed; 

22 ‘‘(5) to register any time when E-Verify is un23 able to receive inquiries; 

24 ‘‘(6) to allow for auditing use of the system to 

25 detect fraud and identify theft; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 71 IS

1 ‘‘(7) to preserve the security of the information 

2 in all of the system by— 

3 ‘‘(A) developing and using algorithms to 

4 detect potential identity theft, such as multiple 

5 uses of the same identifying information or doc6 uments; 

7 ‘‘(B) developing and using algorithms to 

8 detect misuse of the system by employers and 

9 employees; 

10 ‘‘(C) developing capabilities to detect 

11 anomalies in the use of the system that may in12 dicate potential fraud or misuse of the system; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(D) auditing documents and information 

15 submitted by potential employees to employers, 

16 including authority to conduct interviews with 

17 employers and employees; 

18 ‘‘(8) to confirm identity and work authorization 

19 through verification of records maintained by the 

20 Secretary, other Federal departments, States, the 

21 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or 

22 an outlying possession of the United States, as de23 termined necessary by the Secretary, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) records maintained by the Social Se25 curity Administration; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 71 IS

1 ‘‘(B) birth and death records maintained 

2 by vital statistics agencies of any State or other 

3 jurisdiction in the United States; 

4 ‘‘(C) passport and visa records (including 

5 photographs) maintained by the Department of 

6 State; and 

7 ‘‘(D) State driver’s license or identity card 

8 information (including photographs) maintained 

9 by State department of motor vehicles; 

10 ‘‘(9) to electronically confirm the issuance of 

11 the employment authorization or identity document; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(10) to display the digital photograph that the 

14 issuer placed on the document so that the employer 

15 can compare the photograph displayed to the photo16 graph on the document presented by the employee 

17 or, in exceptional cases, if a photograph is not avail18 able from the issuer, to provide for a temporary al19 ternative procedure, specified by the Secretary, for 

20 confirming the authenticity of the document.’’. 

21 SEC. 12. IDENTITY THEFT. 

22 Section 1028 of title 18, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 71 IS

1 (1) in subsection (a)(7), by striking ‘‘of another 

2 person’’ and inserting ‘‘that is not his or her own’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) in subsection (b)(3)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

6 at the end; 

7 (B) in subparagraph (C), by adding ‘‘or’’ 

8 at the end; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) to facilitate or assist in harboring or 

11 hiring unauthorized workers in violation of sec12 tion 274, 274A, or 274C of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324, 1324a, 

14 and 1324c).’’. 

15 SEC. 13. SMALL BUSINESS DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

16 Section 403 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

17 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

18 note), as amended by this Act, is further amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub20 section (e); and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(d) SMALL BUSINESS DEMONSTRATION PRO24 GRAM.—Not later than 9 months after the date of the en25 actment of the Accountability Through Electronic 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 71 IS

1 Verification Act, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Im2 migration Services shall establish a demonstration pro3 gram that assists small businesses in rural areas or areas 

4 without internet capabilities to verify the employment eli5 gibility of newly hired employees solely through the use 

6 of publicly accessible internet terminals.’’. 

7 SEC. 14. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE INSPECTION CENTER. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, within 

9 Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration 

10 and Customs Enforcement, the Employer Compliance In11 spection Center (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Cen12 ter’’). 

13 (b) PURPOSES.—The establishment of the Center is 

14 intended— 

15 (1) to create a culture of compliance for all 

16 United States businesses by imposing more effective, 

17 efficient, and standardized consequences, including 

18 civil and criminal penalties, on employers who fail to 

19 comply with the employment eligibility verification 

20 requirements; and 

21 (2) to consolidate worksite enforcement audits 

22 at a centralized location to ensure a standardized 

23 process and uniform application of the fine matrix. 

24 (c) DUTIES.—The Center shall— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 71 IS

1 (1) carry out duties related to the processing of 

2 the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I–9, 

3 including audits, and related worksite enforcement 

4 investigations; 

5 (2) ensure that all United States businesses ad6 here to existing laws and regulations regarding em7 ployment eligibility; and 

8 (3) carry out such additional duties as may be 

9 assigned or delegated by the Director of U.S. Immi10 gration and Customs Enforcement. 

11 (d) RESPONSE TIME.—The Center shall respond as 

12 quickly as practicable to employer inquiries based on the 

13 facts and circumstances of the employer making the in14 quiry. 

15 (e) TASK FORCE.—The Center shall establish a task 

16 force, utilizing existing information sharing agreements 

17 with other Federal agencies, including the Social Security 

18 Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv19 ices, the Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue 

20 Service, to serve as a force multiplier to proactively inves21 tigate crimes, including Social Security fraud, tax fraud, 

22 and wage and hour violations. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS