USCIS has reduced TNCs from about 8 percent for the period June 2004 through March 2007 to about 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2009. As shown in figure 1, in fiscal year 2009, about 2.6 percent or over 211,000 of newly hired employees received either a SSA or USCIS TNC, including about 0.3 percent who were determined to be work eligible after they contested a TNC and resolved errors or inaccuracies in their records, and about 2.3 percent, or about 189,000, who received a final nonconfirmation because their employment eligibility status remained unresolved. For the approximately 2.3 percent who received a final nonconfirmation, USCIS was unable to determine how many of these employees (1) were authorized employees who did not take action to resolve a TNC because they were not informed by their employers of their right to contest the TNC, (2) independently decided not to contest the TNC, or (3) were not eligible to work. USCIS has reduced TNCs and increased E-Verify accuracy by, among other things, expanding the number of databases that E-Verify can query and instituting quality control procedures to screen for data entry errors. However, erroneous TNCs continue to occur, in part, because of inaccuracies and inconsistencies in how personal information is recorded on employee documents, in government databases, or both. Some actions have been taken to address name-related TNCs, but more could be done. Specifically, USCIS could better position employees to avoid an erroneous TNC by disseminating information to employees on the importance of providing consistent name information and how to record their names consistently. In our December 2010 report, we recommended that USCIS disseminate information to employees on the potential for name mismatches to result in erroneous TNCs and how to record their names consistently. USCIS concurred with our recommendation and outlined actions to address it. For example, USCIS commented that in Novemb 2010 it began to distribute the U.S. Citizenship Welcome Packet at all naturalization ceremonies to advise new citizens to update their records with SSA. USCIS also commented that it has commissioned a study, to b completed in the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, to determine how to enhance its name-matching algorithms. USCIS’s actions for reducing the likelihood of name-related erroneous TNCs are useful steps, but they do not fully address the intent of the recommendation because they do not provide specific information to employees on how to prevent a name- related TNC. See our December 2010 report for more details. In addition, identity fraud remains a challenge because employers may be able to determine if employees are presenting genuine identity and employment eligibility documents that are borrowed or stolen. E-Ver also cannot detect cases in which an unscrupulous employer assists unauthorized employees. USCIS has taken actions to address fraud, mos notably with the fiscal year 2007 implementation of the photo match ing tool for permanent residency cards and employment authorization documents and the September 2010 addition to the matching tool of passport photographs. Although the photo tool has some limitations, it can help reduce some fraud associated with the use of genuine documents in which the original photograph is substituted for another. To help comba identity fraud, USCIS is also seeking to obtain driver’s license data from states and planning to develop a program that would allow victims of identity theft to “lock” their Social Security numbers within E-Verify until they need them to obtain employment authorization. Combating identity fraud through the use of biometrics, such as through fingerprint or facial t recognition, has been included in proposed legislation before Congress an element of comprehensive immigration reform, but implementing a biometric system has its own set of challenges, including those associated with cost and civil liberties. Resolving these issues will be important if this technology is to be effectively implemented in combating identity fraud in the employment verification process. An effective employment authorization system requires a credible worksite enforcement program to ensure employer compliance with applicable immigration laws; however, USCIS is challenged in ensuring employer compliance with E-Verify requirements for several reasons. F example, USCIS cannot monitor the extent to which employers follow program rules because USCIS does not have a presence in emplo yers’ workplaces. USCIS is further limited by its existing technology infrastructure, which provides limited ability to analyze patterns and trends in the data that could be indicative of employer misuse of E-Verify USCIS has minimal avenue for recourse if employers do not respond or remedy noncompliant behavior after a contact from USCIS compliance staff because it has limited authority to investigate employer misuse a no authority to impose penalties against such employers, other tha terminating those who knowingly use the voluntary system for a n unauthorized purpose. For enforcement action for violations of immigration laws, USCIS relies on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to investigate, sanction, and prosecute employers. However, ICE has reported that it has limited resources to investigate an sanction employers that knowingly hire unauthorized workers or those that knowingly violate E-Verify program rules. Instead, according to senior ICE officials, ICE agents seek to maximize limited resources by applying risk assessment principles to worksite enforcement cases and and removing unauthorized workers from critical focusing on detecting infrastructure sites. USCIS has taken actions to institute safeguards for the privacy of personal information for employees who are processed through E-Verify, but has not established mechanisms for employees to identify and access personal information maintained by DHS that may lead to an erroneous TNC, or for E-Verify staff to correct such information. To safeguard the privacy of personal information for employees who are processed through E-Verify, USCIS has addressed the Fair Information Practice Principles, which are the basis for DHS’s privacy policy. For example, USCIS published privacy notices in 2009 and 2010 that defined parameters, including setting limits on DHS’s collection and use of personal information for the E-Verify program. Notwithstanding the efforts made by USCIS to address privacy concerns, employees are limited in their ability to identify and access personal information maintained by DHS that may lead to an erroneous TNC. In our December 2010 report, we recommended that USCIS develop procedures to enable employees to access personal information and correct inaccuracies or inconsistencies in such information within DHS databases. USCIS concurred and identified steps that it is taking to address this issue, such as developing a pilot program to assist employees receiving TNCs to request a records update and referring individuals who receive a TNC to local USCIS or U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices and ports of entry to correct records when inconsistent or inaccurate information is identified. In part to address this recommendation, in March 2011, USCIS began implementing a Self-Check program to allow individuals to check their own work authorization status against SSA and DHS databases prior to applying for a job. We recognize that these efforts may be a step in the right direction, but they do not fully respond to our recommendation. This is because, among other things, USCIS does not have operating procedures in place for USCIS staff to explain to employees what personal information produced the TNC or what specific steps they should take to correct the information. We encourage USCIS to continue its efforts to develop procedures enabling employees to access and correct inaccurate and inconsistent personal information in DHS databases. USCIS and SSA have taken actions to prepare for possible mandatory implementation of E-Verify for all employers nationwide by addressing key practices for effectively managing E-Verify system capacity and availability and coordinating with each other in operating E-Verify. However, USCIS and SSA face challenges in accurately estimating E-Verify costs. Our analysis showed that USCIS’s E-Verify estimates partially met three of four characteristics of a reliable cost estimate and minimally met one characteristic. As a result, we found that USCIS is at increased risk of not making informed investment decisions, understanding system affordability, and developing justifiable budget requests for future E-Verify use and potential mandatory implementation of it. To ensure that USCIS has a sound basis for making decisions about resource investments for E- Verify and securing sufficient resources, in our December 2010 report, we recommended that the Director of USCIS ensure that a life-cycle cost estimate for E-Verify is developed in a manner that reflects the four characteristics of a reliable estimate consistent with best practices. USCIS concurred and senior program officials told us that USCIS, among other things, has contracted with a federally funded research and development center to develop an independent cost estimate of the life-cycle costs of E- Verify to better comply with our cost-estimating guidance. Our analysis showed that SSA’s E-Verify estimates substantially met three of four characteristics of a reliable cost estimate. However, we found that SSA’s cost estimates are partially credible because SSA may not be able to provide assurance to USCIS that it can provide the required level of support for E-Verify operations if it experiences cost overruns within any one fiscal year. In our December 2010 report, we recommended that the Commissioner of SSA assess the risk around SSA’s E-Verify workload estimate, in accordance with best practices, to ensure that SSA can accurately project costs associated with its E-Verify workload and provide the required level of support to USCIS and E-Verify operations. SSA did not concur, and stated that it assesses the risk around its workload cost estimates and, if E-Verify were to become mandatory, SSA would adapt its budget models and recalculate estimated costs based on the new projected E-Verify workload volume. As discussed in our December 2010 report, however, SSA does not conduct a risk and uncertainty analysis that uses statistical models to quantitatively determine the extent of variability around its cost estimate or identify the limitations associated with the assumptions used to create the estimate. Thus, we continue to believe that SSA should adopt this best practice for estimating risks to help it reduce the potential for experiencing cost overruns for E-Verify. Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Becerra, and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement. I will be pleased to respond to any questions you may have. For further information regarding this testimony, please contact Richard M. Stana at (202) 512-8777 or stanar@gao.gov. In addition, contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement. Individuals who made key contributions to this testimony are Evi Rezmovic, Assistant Director; Sara Margraf; and Michelle Woods. Additionally, key contributors to our December 2010 report include Blake Ainsworth, David Alexander, Tonia Brown, Frances Cook, Marisol Cruz, John de Ferrari, Julian King, Danielle Pakdaman, David Plocher, Karen Richey, Robert Robinson, Douglas Sloane, Stacey Steele, Desiree Cunningham, Vanessa Taylor, Teresa Tucker, and Ashley Vaughan. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.

Summary: This testimony discusses the E-Verify program, which provides employers a tool for verifying an employee's authorization to work in the United States. The opportunity for employment is one of the most powerful magnets attracting immigrants to the United States. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, as of March 2010, approximately 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the country, and an estimated 8 million of them, or about 70 percent, were in the labor force. Congress, the administration, and some states have taken various actions to better ensure that those who work here have appropriate work authorization and to safeguard jobs for authorized employees. Nonetheless, opportunities remain for unauthorized workers to fraudulently obtain employment by using borrowed or stolen documents and for unscrupulous employers to hire unauthorized workers. Immigration experts have noted that deterring illegal immigration requires, among other things, a more reliable employment eligibility verification process and a more robust worksite enforcement capacity. E-Verify is a free, largely voluntary, Internet-based system operated by the Verification Division of the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The goals of E-Verify are to (1) reduce the employment of individuals unauthorized to work, (2) reduce discrimination, (3) protect employee civil liberties and privacy, and (4) prevent undue burden on employers. Pursuant to a 2007 Office of Management Budget directive, all federal agencies are required to use E-Verify on their new hires and, as of September 2009, certain federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use E-Verify for newly hired employees working in the United States as well as existing employees working directly under the contract. A number of states have also mandated that some or all employers within the state use E-Verify on new hires. From October 1, 2010, through April 5, 2011, E-Verify processed approximately 7.8 million queries from nearly 258,000 employers. In an August 2005 report and June 2008 testimony on E-Verify, we noted that USCIS faced challenges in detecting identity fraud and ensuring employer compliance with the program's rules. We highlighted some of the challenges USCIS and SSA faced in reducing instances of erroneous tentative nonconfirmations (TNC), or situations in which work-authorized employees are not automatically confirmed by E-Verify. We also noted that mandatory implementation of E-Verify would place increased demands on USCIS's and SSA's resources. This testimony is based primarily on a report we issued in December 2010 and provide updates to the challenges we noted in our 2005 report and 2008 testimony. The statement, as requested, highlights findings from that report and discusses the extent to which (1) USCIS has reduced the incidence of TNCs and E-Verify's vulnerability to fraud, (2) USCIS has provided safeguards for employees' personal information, and (3) USCIS and SSA have taken steps to prepare for mandatory E-Verify implementation. Our December 2010 report also includes a discussion of the extent to which USCIS has improved its ability to monitor and ensure employer compliance with E-Verify program policies and procedures. USCIS has reduced TNCs from about 8 percent for the period June 2004 through March 2007 to about 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2009. In fiscal year 2009, about 2.6 percent or over 211,000 of newly hired employees received either a SSA or USCIS TNC, including about 0.3 percent who were determined to be work eligible after they contested a TNC and resolved errors or inaccuracies in their records, and about 2.3 percent, or about 189,000, who received a final nonconfirmation because their employment eligibility status remained unresolved. For the approximately 2.3 percent who received a final nonconfirmation, USCIS was unable to determine how many of these employees (1) were authorized employees who did not take action to resolve a TNC because they were not informed by their employers of their right to contest the TNC, (2) independently decided not to contest the TNC, or (3) were not eligible to work. USCIS has taken actions to institute safeguards for the privacy of personal information for employees who are processed through E-Verify, but has not established mechanisms for employees to identify and access personal information maintained by DHS that may lead to an erroneous TNC, or for E-Verify staff to correct such information. To safeguard the privacy of personal information for employees who are processed through E-Verify, USCIS has addressed the Fair Information Practice Principles, which are the basis for DHS's privacy policy. For example, USCIS published privacy notices in 2009 and 2010 that defined parameters, including setting limits on DHS's collection and use of personal information for the E-Verify program. USCIS and SSA have taken actions to prepare for possible mandatory implementation of E-Verify for all employers nationwide by addressing key practices for effectively managing E-Verify system capacity and availability and coordinating with each other in operating E-Verify. However, USCIS and SSA face challenges in accurately estimating E-Verify costs. Our analysis showed that USCIS's E-Verify estimates partially met three of four characteristics of a reliable cost estimate and minimally met one characteristic. As a result, we found that USCIS is at increased risk of not making informed investment decisions, understanding system affordability, and developing justifiable budget requests for future E-Verify use and potential mandatory implementation of it. To ensure that USCIS has a sound basis for making decisions about resource investments for E-Verify and securing sufficient resources, in our December 2010 report, we recommended that the Director of USCIS ensure that a life-cycle cost estimate for E-Verify is developed in a manner that reflects the four characteristics of a reliable estimate consistent with best practices. USCIS concurred and senior program officials told us that USCIS, among other things, has contracted with a federally funded research and development center to develop an independent cost estimate of the life-cycle costs of E-Verify to better comply with our cost-estimating guidance.