I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 98 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to enforce restrictions on 

employment in the United States of unauthorized aliens through the 

use of improved Social Security cards and an Employment Eligibility 

Database, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. DREIER (for himself, Mr. REYES, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. BILBRAY, and Mr. 

ISSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, 

Homeland Security, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to enforce 

restrictions on employment in the United States of unauthorized aliens through the use of improved Social Security cards and an Employment Eligibility Database, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Illegal Immigration 

5 Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) This Act is an appropriate response to the 

4 need to improve procedures to preclude unauthorized 

5 employment of aliens and prevent the entry of ter6 rorists into the United States. 

7 (2) The economic disparity between the United 

8 States and other countries is a prime factor in the 

9 desire of foreign nationals to enter the United States 

10 illegally. 

11 (3) Federal law prohibits the employment of 

12 such illegal immigrants in the United States. 

13 (4) Nonetheless, illegal immigrants routinely 

14 find employment within the United States. 

15 (5) Such employment of illegal immigrants un16 dermines our system of lawful immigration and has 

17 a negative impact on job opportunities for American 

18 workers. 

19 (6) Employers in the United States currently 

20 have difficulty establishing the veracity of the iden21 tity documents of prospective employees in order to 

22 verify their work eligibility. 

23 (7) Pilot programs undertaken by the Federal 

24 Government demonstrate that a nationwide employ25 ment verification system is feasible. 


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1 (8) Social Security cards are routinely required 

2 to be presented to employers by new employees. 

3 (9) Social Security cards remain vulnerable to 

4 counterfeiting and fraud. 

5 (10) Social Security cards with improved de6 fenses against fraudulent use would serve as the best 

7 vehicle by which to determine employment eligibility. 

8 (11) The Social Security card should not be9 come a national identification card. 

10 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT RE11 LATING TO IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVID12 UALS. 

13 (a) ANTIFRAUD MEASURES FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

14 CARDS.—Section 205(c)(2)(G) of the Social Security Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(G)) is amended— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(G)’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘banknote paper’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘durable plastic or similar material’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

20 clauses: 

21 ‘‘(ii) Each Social Security card issued under this sub22 paragraph shall include an encrypted machine-readable 

23 electronic identification strip which shall be unique to the 

24 individual to whom the card is issued. The Commissioner 

25 shall develop such electronic identification strip in conVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Jan 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H98.IH H98

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1 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, so as 

2 to enable employers to use such strip in accordance with 

3 section 274A(a)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(1)(B)) to obtain access to the Em5 ployment Eligibility Database established by such Sec6 retary pursuant to section 4 of such Act with respect to 

7 the individual to whom the card is issued. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Each Social Security card issued under this 

9 subparagraph shall contain— 

10 ‘‘(I) physical security features designed to pre11 vent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the 

12 card for fraudulent purposes; and 

13 ‘‘(II) a disclaimer stating the following: ‘This 

14 card shall not be used for the purpose of identifica15 tion.’. 

16 ‘‘(iv) The Commissioner shall provide for the issuance 

17 (or reissuance) to each individual who— 

18 ‘‘(I) has been assigned a Social Security ac19 count number under subparagraph (B), 

20 ‘‘(II) has attained the minimum age applicable, 

21 in the jurisdiction in which such individual engages 

22 in employment, for legally engaging in such employ23 ment, and 


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1 ‘‘(III) files application for such card under this 

2 clause in such form and manner as shall be pre3 scribed by the Commissioner, 

4 a Social Security card which meets the preceding require5 ments of this subparagraph and which includes a recent 

6 digitized photograph of the individual to whom the card 

7 is issued. 

8 ‘‘(v) The Commissioner shall maintain an ongoing ef9 fort to develop measures in relation to the Social Security 

10 card and the issuance thereof to preclude fraudulent use 

11 thereof.’’. 

12 (b) SHARING OF INFORMATION WITH THE SEC13 RETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Section 205(c)(2) of 

14 such Act is amended by adding at the end the following 

15 new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(I) Upon the issuance of a Social Security account 

17 number under subparagraph (B) to any individual or the 

18 issuance of a Social Security card under subparagraph (G) 

19 to any individual, the Commissioner of Social Security 

20 shall transmit to the Secretary of Homeland Security such 

21 information received by the Commissioner in the individ22 ual’s application for such number or such card as such 

23 Secretary determines necessary and appropriate for ad24 ministration of the Illegal Immigration Enforcement and 

25 Social Security Protection Act of 2009. Such information 


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1 shall be used solely for inclusion in the Employment Eligi2 bility Database established pursuant to section 4 of such 

3 Act.’’. 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendment made by 

5 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to Social Security 

6 cards issued after 2 years after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act. The amendment made by subsection (b) shall 

8 apply with respect to the issuance of Social Security ac9 count numbers and Social Security cards after 2 years 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 4. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY DATABASE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu13 rity shall establish and maintain an Employment Eligi14 bility Database. The Database shall include data com15 prised of the citizenship status of individuals and the work 

16 and residency eligibility information (including expiration 

17 dates) with respect to individuals who are not citizens or 

18 nationals of the United States but are authorized to work 

19 in the United States. Such data shall include all such data 

20 maintained by the Department of Homeland Security as 

21 of the date of the establishment of such database and in22 formation obtained from the Commissioner of Social Secu23 rity pursuant to section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security 

24 Act. The Secretary shall maintain ongoing consultations 


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1 with the Commissioner to ensure efficient and effective op2 eration of the Database. 

3 (b) INCORPORATION OF ONGOING PILOT PRO4 GRAMS.—To the extent that the Secretary determines ap5 propriate in furthering the purposes of subsection (a), the 

6 Secretary may incorporate the information, processes, and 

7 procedures employed in connection with the Citizen Attes8 tation Verification Pilot Program and the Basic Pilot Pro9 gram into the operation and maintenance of the Database 

10 under subsection (a). 

11 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—No officer or employee of 

13 the Department of Homeland Security shall have ac14 cess to any information contained in the Database 

15 for any purpose other than— 

16 (A) the establishment of a system of 

17 records necessary for the effective administra18 tion of this Act; or 

19 (B) any other purpose the Secretary of 

20 Homeland Security deems to be in the national 

21 security interests of the United States. 

22 (2) RESTRICTION.—The Secretary shall restrict 

23 access to such information to officers and employees 

24 of the United States whose duties or responsibilities 


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1 require access for the purposes described in para2 graph (1). 

3 (3) OTHER SAFEGUARDS.—The Secretary shall 

4 provide such other safeguards as the Secretary de5 termines to be necessary or appropriate to protect 

6 the confidentiality of information contained in the 

7 Database. 

8 (4) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Whoever accesses 

9 or uses information in the Employment Eligibility 

10 Database without authority to do so, or for an unau11 thorized purpose, shall be fined under title 18, 

12 United States Code, imprisoned for a term of not 

13 less than 5, and not more than 7, years, or both. 

14 (d) DEADLINE FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS.—The 

15 Secretary shall complete the establishment of the Data16 base and provide for the efficient and effective operation 

17 of the Database in accordance with this section not later 

18 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO INDIVIDUALS COM20 MENCING WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. 

21 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOY22 EES.—Section 274A(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(1)) is amended to read as 

24 follows: 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYEES.— 

2 No individual may commence employment with 

3 an employer in the United States unless such 

4 individual has— 

5 ‘‘(i) obtained a Social Security card 

6 issued by the Commissioner of Social Secu7 rity meeting the requirements of section 

8 205(c)(2)(G)(iii) of the Social Security 

9 Act; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) displayed such card to the em11 ployer pursuant to the employer’s request 

12 for purposes of the verification required 

13 under subparagraph (B). 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No employer may 

16 hire for employment an individual in the 

17 United States in any capacity unless such 

18 employer verifies under this subparagraph 

19 that such individual has in his or her pos20 session a Social Security card issued to 

21 such individual pursuant to section 

22 205(c)(2)(G) of the Social Security Act 

23 which bears a photograph of such indi24 vidual and that such individual is author25 ized to work in the United States in such 


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1 capacity. Such verification shall be made in 

2 accordance with procedures prescribed by 

3 the Secretary of Homeland Security for the 

4 purposes of ensuring against fraudulent 

5 use of the card and accurate and prompt 

6 verification of the authorization of such in7 dividual to work in the United States in 

8 such capacity. 

9 ‘‘(ii) VERIFICATION PROCEDURES.— 

10 Such procedures shall include use of— 

11 ‘‘(I) a phone verification system 

12 which shall be established by the Sec13 retary; or 

14 ‘‘(II) a card-reader verification 

15 system employing a device approved 

16 by the Secretary as capable of reading 

17 the electronic identification strip 

18 borne by the card so as to verify the 

19 identity of the card holder and the 

20 card holder’s authorization to work, 

21 and which is made available at mini22 mal cost to the employer. 

23 ‘‘(iii) SECURITY AND EFFECTIVE24 NESS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

25 the phone verification system described in 


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1 subparagraph (I) of clause (ii) is as secure 

2 and effective as the card-reader verification 

3 system described in subparagraph (II) of 

4 such clause. 

5 ‘‘(iv) ACCESS TO DATABASE.—The 

6 Secretary shall ensure that, by means of 

7 such procedures, the employer will have 

8 such access to the Employment Eligibility 

9 Database established and operated by the 

10 Secretary pursuant to section 4 of the Ille11 gal Immigration Enforcement and Social 

12 Security Protection Act of 2009 as to en13 able the employer to obtain information, 

14 relating to the citizenship, residency, and 

15 work eligibility of the individual seeking 

16 employment by the employer in any capac17 ity, which is necessary to inform the em18 ployer as to whether the individual is au19 thorized to work for the employer in the 

20 United States in such capacity. 

21 ‘‘(v) DEFENSE.—An employer who es22 tablishes that the employer complied in 

23 good faith with the requirements of this 

24 subparagraph shall not be liable for hiring 

25 an unauthorized alien, if— 


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1 ‘‘(I) such hiring occurred due to 

2 an error in the phone verification sys3 tem, the card-reader verification sys4 tem, or the Employment Eligibility 

5 Database which was unknown to the 

6 employer at the time of such hiring; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(II) the employer terminates 

9 that employment of the alien upon 

10 being informed of the error.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 274A of 

12 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraphs 

15 (3), (5), and (6) and redesignating paragraphs (4) 

16 and (7) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each 

19 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec20 retary of Homeland Security’’; 

21 (B) by amending the matter preceding 

22 paragraph (2) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION FORMS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYER ATTESTATION OF COMPLI25 ANCE.—The verification procedures prescribed under 


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1 subsection (a)(1)(B) shall include an attestation, 

2 made under penalty of perjury and on a form des3 ignated or established by the Secretary of Homeland 

4 Security by regulation, that the employer has com5 plied with such procedures.’’; and 

6 (C) by striking paragraph (6); 

7 (3) by striking subsection (d); and 

8 (4) by amending subsection (h)(3) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposed of this sec11 tion: 

12 ‘‘(A) The term ‘authorized to work in the 

13 United States’, when applied to an individual, 

14 means that the individual is not an unauthor15 ized alien. 

16 ‘‘(B) The term ‘employer’ means— 

17 ‘‘(i) any person or entity who hires an 

18 individual; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) any individual earning self-em20 ployment income (as defined in section 

21 211(b) of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 411(b))). 

23 ‘‘(C) The term ‘employee’ shall have the 

24 meaning given such term in section 210(j) of 

25 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 410(j)). 


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1 ‘‘(D) The term ‘hire’ means to hire an in2 dividual, or to recruit or refer for a fee an indi3 vidual, for employment in the United States. 

4 ‘‘(E) The term ‘unauthorized alien’ means, 

5 with respect to the employment of an alien at 

6 a particular time, that the alien is not at that 

7 time— 

8 ‘‘(i) an alien lawfully admitted for 

9 permanent residence; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) authorized to be so employed by 

11 this Act or by the Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security.’’. 

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall take effect 2 years after the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act and shall apply to employment of 

16 any individual in any capacity commencing on or after 

17 such effective date. 

18 SEC. 6. COMPLIANCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 274A(e) of the Immigra20 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(e)) is amended 

21 to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(e) COMPLIANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

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1 able to the Secretary, against any employer 

2 who— 

3 ‘‘(i) hires an individual for employ4 ment in the United States in any capacity 

5 who is known by the employer not to be 

6 authorized to work in the United States in 

7 such capacity; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) fails to comply with the proce9 dures prescribed by the Secretary pursuant 

10 to this section in connection with the em11 ployment of any individual. 

12 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—Such penalty shall not ex13 ceed $50,000 for each occurrence of a violation 

14 described in subparagraph (A) with respect to 

15 the individual, plus, in the event of the removal 

16 of such individual from the United States based 

17 on findings developed in connection with the as18 sessment or collection of such penalty, the costs 

19 incurred by the Federal Government, cooper20 ating State and local governments, and State 

21 and local law enforcement agencies, in connec22 tion with such removal. 

23 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS BY SECRETARY.—If any person is 

24 assessed under paragraph (1) and fails to pay the 

25 assessment when due, or any person otherwise fails 


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1 to meet any requirement of this section, the Sec2 retary may bring a civil action in any district court 

3 of the United States within the jurisdiction of which 

4 such person’s assets are located or in which such 

5 person resides or is found for the recovery of the 

6 amount of the assessment or for appropriate equi7 table relief to redress the violation or enforce the 

8 provisions of this section, and process may be served 

9 in any other district. The district courts of the 

10 United States shall have jurisdiction over actions 

11 brought under this section by the Secretary without 

12 regard to the amount in controversy. 

13 ‘‘(3) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who— 

14 ‘‘(A) hires for employment any individual 

15 in the United States in any capacity who such 

16 person knows not to be authorized to work in 

17 the United States in such capacity; or 

18 ‘‘(B) hires for employment any individual 

19 in the United States and fails to comply with 

20 the procedures prescribed by the Secretary pur21 suant to section 5(b) in connection with the hir22 ing of such individual; 

23 shall upon conviction be fined in accordance with 

24 title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not 

25 more than 5 years, or both’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 274A of 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (g)(2), by striking ‘‘hearing 

5 under subsection (e),’’ and inserting ‘‘hearing,’’; 

6 (2) by striking subsection (f); and 

7 (3) by redesignating subsections (e), (g), and 

8 (h) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall take effect 2 years after the date of the 

11 enactment of this Act and shall apply to employment of 

12 any individual in any capacity commencing on or after 

13 such effective date. 

14 SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR TECHNOLOGIES TO COMBAT ILLEGAL 

15 BORDER CROSSINGS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu17 rity is authorized to make grants for the purpose of im18 proving and developing new technologies to combat illegal 

19 border crossings into the United States. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 

22 (a) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

23 2011. 


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1 SEC. 8. INCREASE IN PERSONNEL ENSURING COMPLIANCE 

2 WITH PROHIBITIONS ON UNLAWFUL EMPLOY3 MENT OF ALIENS. 

4 Beginning in fiscal year 2009, the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall, subject to the availability of ap6 propriations for such purpose, increase by not less than 

7 10,000 the number of positions within the Department of 

8 Homeland Security for full-time personnel charged with 

9 carrying out section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Na10 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by section 

11 6 of this Act, above the number of such positions for which 

12 funds were made available for fiscal year 2004. 

13 SEC. 9. INTEGRATION OF FINGERPRINTING DATABASES. 

14 The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attor15 ney General of the United States shall jointly undertake 

16 to integrate the fingerprint database maintained by the 

17 Department of Homeland Security with the fingerprint 

18 database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investiga19 tion. The integration of databases pursuant to this section 

20 shall be completed not later than 2 years after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Ex24 cept as otherwise provided in this Act, there are author25 ized to be appropriated to the Department of Homeland 

26 Security for each fiscal year beginning on or after October 


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1 1, 2009, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

2 Act and the amendments made by this Act, of which not 

3 less than $100,000,000 shall be for the purpose of car4 rying out section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)), as amended by section 6 

6 of this Act. 

7 (b) SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.—There are 

8 authorized to be appropriated to the Social Security Ad9 ministration for each fiscal year beginning on or after Oc10 tober 1, 2009, such sums as are necessary to carry out 

11 the amendments made by section 3. 

12 SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con14 strued— 

15 (1) to require the presentation of a Social Secu16 rity card for any purpose other than— 

17 (A) for the administration and enforce18 ment of the Social Security laws of the United 

19 States; or 

20 (B) for the purpose of implementing and 

21 enforcing this Act and the amendments made 

22 by this Act; or 

23 (2) to require the Social Security card to be 

24 carried by an individual. 


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1 (b) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.—It is the 

2 policy of the United States that the Social Security card 

3 shall not be used as a national identification card. 

Æ 


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