Thomas Massie Says National E-Verify Would Be Bad for American Workers. He’s Right.

May 10, 2023

Certain employment measures in the House GOP’s border bill that are meant to verify citizenship status would harm American workers and employers.

by Fiona Harrigan Reason.com

House Republicans are rallying around the Secure the Border Act of 2023, a sprawling immigration enforcement bill that will be brought up for a vote later this week. It would resume border wall construction and seek to codify the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required migrants to await their U.S. immigration court dates in Mexico.

But the bill wouldn’t just target undocumented immigrants, as Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) has pointed out. He tweeted that a section requiring employers to use E-Verify systems to verify workers’ citizenship status would be like giving the government “the ultimate on/off switch” for employment.

“I will NOT vote to require EVERY American to get [President Joe] Biden’s permission if they want to work,” Massie continued. “Giving the federal government more power over YOU is a mistake.”