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Q&A Of The Day - Is E-Verify A Key To Deterring Migrants In Florida? Part 2
Bottom Line: As of January 1st, Florida has a new E-Verify law in force. The law spells out different requirements for public employers and private employers. The law spells out these requirements for public employers: Every public employer, contractor, and subcontractor in Florida must register with and use the E-Verify system to verify the work authorization status of all newly hired employees. And for private employers: A private employer must, after making an offer of employment that has been accepted by a person, verify the person’s employment eligibility by either using the E-Verify system or requiring the person to provide the same documentation that is required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on its Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) form. As you can tell, the requirements are most restrictive for public employers, where the E-Verify system must be used. Conversely, the law allows for private employers to avoid the E-Verify system by in theory verifying I-9 information.
Notably, as it applies to the conversation regarding migrants being bused into Florida with legal documents including a “notice to appear”, while they’re provided with legal status to stay in the United States until their asylum status has been determined by the courts, I-9 information isn’t provided to asylum seekers until and unless their asylum claim is determined to be valid by a judge. In the context of your question, if private employers had to verify every employee through the E-Verify system without the I-9 loophole, it’s possible it could act as a deterrent to asylum seekers coming to Florida. It’s clear the current incarnation with loopholes has proven to be largely ineffectual. Through the first six months of the year, literally no one was stopped from employment via the state’s new law. It stands to reason that those lacking status aren’t applying for government work and employers inclined to employ workers lacking status might wink and nod at the I-9 verification. Now it’s possible that might change as soon as next year.
State Representative Anthony Sabatini has filed a new E-Verify bill for consideration in the upcoming state session. Under Sabatini’s bill private employers would be bound by the same requirements as public employers. The change proposed in the bill is specifically this: Removes options for private employer to verify person’s employment eligibility using specified federal form; removes requirement eligibility using specified federal form; removes requirement that private employer maintain records for specified length of time; removes authorization for certain persons & entities to request & requirement that private employer provide; documentation relating to person’s employment eligibility.
If passed it’s no guarantee that some employers wouldn’t still intentionally hire unlawful workers, but they’d have to commit to the practice and from a law enforcement perspective it’d be much easier to enforce. Also, it could well serve to cause future migrants to choose other states over Florida to the point of today’s question. If you’re interested in seeing this happen you can advocate for Sabatini’s bill to your state representative and senator.