Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act
Sponsored By: Senator Chuck Grassley
Introduced
Summary
Mandatory, expanded E-Verify would make the federal employment verification pilot permanent and push the system toward near-universal use by U.S. employers. The bill strengthens identity checks, broadens data sharing, and raises penalties for noncompliance to increase enforcement reach.
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- Workers and families: The bill would require verification before hire or no later than 3 days after hiring, and it would add reverification when work authorization expires within 3 days. A final nonconfirmation would force employers to terminate and report the worker, creating a rebuttable presumption of an illegal-hiring violation.
- Employers and small businesses: All employers would need to join E-Verify within 1 year, while federal contractors and designated "critical employers" must enroll sooner and critical firms must comply within 30 days of designation. Nonparticipation and hiring violations carry higher civil fines, new criminal penalties up to $30,000 per unauthorized worker, and repeat-offender debarment procedures.
- Federal operations and program design: The bill would expand information sharing among DHS, SSA, IRS, and Treasury, require DHS recommendations to simplify the Form I-9 within 9 months, add identity-theft safeguards and digital-photo checks, create a small business demonstration for rural or internet-poor areas, and set up an Employer Compliance Inspection Center to centralize audits and penalties.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 3 mixed.
Immediate actions after nonconfirmation
If enacted, employers who get a final E‑Verify nonconfirmation would have to immediately end that person's employment, recruitment, or referral. Employers would also have to give information the Secretary requires to help immigration enforcement. USCIS would send a weekly list to ICE with each nonconfirmed person's name, Social Security number or A‑number, current employer contact details, and other key information. Keeping someone employed after a final nonconfirmation would create a rebuttable presumption of violation.
Higher fines and prison risks
If enacted, the bill would raise civil and criminal penalties for illegal hiring. Criminal fines could reach up to $30,000 per unauthorized person and repeat pattern violators could face 1 to 10 years in prison. Civil penalty ranges would increase across multiple violation classes (for example, ranges up to $25,000 in some counts). The bill keeps a possible waiver or reduction of civil penalties if an employer shows it acted in good faith.
New mandatory E‑Verify checks
If enacted, the bill would make E‑Verify permanent and expand who must use it. All federal executive agencies and federal contractors would have to use E‑Verify. The Secretary would list critical employers within 7 days and those employers would have 30 days to start. Employers would have to verify new hires, recruits, or referrals through E‑Verify no later than 3 days after hiring. The Secretary could require verification of people not previously checked within one year. Pre‑hire checks would be allowed only with the worker's consent. State or local bans on E‑Verify would be preempted and employers using E‑Verify in good faith would get liability protections.
Stronger ID checks and photos
If enacted, E‑Verify would use more official records and photos to confirm identity and work authorization. The system would show issuer photos when available and have temporary steps when a photo is missing. DHS would be required to build tools to flag likely identity theft and allow audits and interviews to detect fraud. The law would require strong privacy and security protections for the underlying data.
New employer compliance center
If enacted, DHS would create an Employer Compliance Inspection Center to centralize I‑9 audits and worksite enforcement. Agencies would share no‑match letters and earnings suspense file data and set up an interagency information program within one year. The center would coordinate investigations into Social Security, tax, and wage violations. DHS could debar repeat violators from federal contracts and list them for five years.
Identity theft law expanded
If enacted, the bill would expand the federal identity‑theft crime to cover using another person's identity to help hire or hide unauthorized workers. That would make such misuse of identity documents a federal identity‑theft offense under existing law.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Chuck Grassley
IA • R
Cosponsors
Tommy Tuberville
AL • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
Mike Lee
UT • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
Ted Cruz
TX • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
Katie Britt
AL • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
James Lankford
OK • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
Shelley Capito
WV • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
Joni Ernst
IA • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
Bernie Moreno
OH • R
Sponsored 5/1/2025
Jim Banks
IN • R
Sponsored 9/2/2025
Bill Hagerty
TN • R
Sponsored 9/10/2025
Tim Sheehy
MT • R
Sponsored 10/9/2025
Roger Wicker
MS • R
Sponsored 3/10/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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