The Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC), a coalition of businesses, trade associations, and other industry organizations that support reform of current U.S. immigration policy, has issued two recent statements in connection with the start of “mark-up,” the process by which the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee debates proposed amendments to the comprehensive immigration reform bill known as The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.

The first of these statements summarizes the relevant amendments proposed to date and the coalition’s position on each measure in a corresponding chart. Specifically, EWIC’s statement stresses the coalition’s particular concern about the introduction of a mandatory electronic employment eligibility verification system for employers nationwide and the terms of the proposed new visa program for lesser-skilled workers. For a complete copy of EWIC’s statement and corresponding chart, please click here and here.

In addition, EWIC’s second statement discusses The Legal Workforce Act introduced by U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte on April 26, 2013. This proposed statute would mandate the implementation of an improved E-Verify system, the federal government’s current employment eligibility verification program, for all employers across the nation. According to EWIC, the legislation properly addresses several key E-Verify issues related to jurisdiction, workability, and the allocation of resources, but also requires improvements in areas such as possible identity theft, penalties for non-compliance, and the use of additional verification methods. For a complete copy of EWIC’s statement, please click here.