Nathan Burchfiel
Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - The immigration reform bills in the Senate and House share little in common, but one thing both chambers agree on is the need to verify potential employees' eligibility to legally work in the United States. Supporters of immigration control say an automated system to do just that is already in place and could be implemented nationwide soon.

The Employment Verification Basic Pilot Program (EVP) was created in November 1997. It was originally offered to employers on a voluntary basis in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas but has since been expanded to allow employers in all 50 states to join.

The EVP allows businesses to verify a job applicant's eligibility to work -- usually instantly -- by comparing the personal information provided on an application with Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases.

Jim Kouri

With the federal government's failure to curtail the onslaught of illegal aliens into the United States, coupled with the inaction of lawmakers in Washington, DC to pass real immigration reform, some Americans are looking at legal alternatives to thwart illegal immigration and those who facilitate it.
In addition, more and more Americans are recognizing that state governments aren't doing anything to curb illegal immigration, and, in fact, several states even aid illegal aliens or provide incentives. Also employers who hire illegal aliens create the driving force for illegals to enter the US in order to secure gainful employment.

For years, employers in California have known that they could hire illegal aliens without having to worry very much about as far as being prosecuted for breaking the law. Soon, however, they may have something serious to worry about: their competitors taking legal action against them.

According to legal experts, a Californian civil law includes a provision for a company that knowingly employs illegal aliens to be sued by competitors who have suffered economic damages as a result of such an illegal practice. When a construction company, for instance, uses minimum wage workers who are illegal aliens to underbid competitors in order to secure work contracts, those companies who hire Americans and legal "green card" immigrants and pay fair wages will be able to sue the illegal aliens' employer in a court of law.

PETER PRENGAMAN

Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Frustrated businesses took their fight against illegal immigration to court Tuesday, filing the first in a series of lawsuits accusing competitors of hiring illegal workers to achieve an unfair advantage.

Anti-illegal immigration groups said the lawsuits were an attempt to enforce immigration law by creating a deterrent against hiring illegal employees.

"We see the legal profession bringing to this issue the kind of effect it has had on consumer product safety," said Mike Hethmon of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a Washington D.C.-based group backing the California cases.

In the complaint filed Tuesday, a temporary employment agency that supplies farm workers sued a grower and two competing companies.

A Santa Monica temp agency alleges a grower and two firms violated a state law on unfair
competition by using undocumented workers.

By Molly Selvin

Opponents of illegal immigration are using a new legal tactic: Suing businesses that allegedly hire illegal workers, contending they gain an unfair competitive advantage.

In a complaint filed Monday, a Santa Monica-based temporary employment agency that supplies legal farmworkers sued a Central Valley blueberry grower and two other companies. The agency contends that the grower hired illegal workers, violating a contract to use the agency's employees.

The California lawsuit is believed to be the first based on the state's unfair-competition law, legal experts said. Although the case may be difficult to win, they said, it seeks to highlight widespread criticisms that the federal government is ineffective in enforcing laws barring the hiring of illegal workers.