WASHINGTON, DC - As the U.S. Senate moves past the debate on border security, the chamber is set to vote on a series of amendments, one of which would needlessly and ineffectually duplicate the E-Verify system and set up an unreliable trigger" to earn citizenship.

Although the current bipartisan immigration bill already provides for a mandatory E-Verify system to strengthen interior enforcement and protect both employers and workers during implementation, Senator Rob Portman's Amendment 1634 would create a voluntary identity and work eligibility verification process that would not only run alongside E-Verify, but would also have to be operational before aspiring citizens could enter Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status.

"We have reiterated this plenty of times: the language on interior enforcement in the current immigration bill is strong," stated Eliseo Medina, Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). "We don't need another costly verification system that will depend on unreliable commercial and credit databases with the potential to discriminate individuals who have little credit or employment history."

"Senator Portman is ignoring the fine print before him," Medina added. "The bill as it stands now provides an E-Verify system that has been road-tested and stamped with enough approval from Labor and Business. There's no need for more hocus-pocus on this issue or more concessions. Senators must answer the call for commonsense immigration reform once and for all with the strongest immigration legislation that upholds a path to citizenship without any of the tricks."

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