No Stimulus for Illegal Immigrants Provision Stripped from Stimulus Spending Bill Signed by President Obama

Seventy-five members of Congress, from both sides of the aisle, asked leaders to close a loophole that allows billions of economic stimulus dollars to inadvertently go to illegal immigrants working construction jobs funded by the stimulus bill. The provision that would have closed this loophole was included in the House version of the bill signed by President Obama, but was stripped from the bill before going to conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the legislation. This provision was removed even though an American employment eligibility verification system, E-Verify program, is already in place and a service of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

The bipartisan participation President Obama promised in his campaign speeches has only been seen recently in two areas, pork and failed opposition. In addition to a failed bipartisan opposition to spending stimulus money to hire illegal aliens, Congress has managed to come together to add pork through earmarks to the spending bill; Republicans accounted for 40% of the earmarks and the most costly pork in the just passed massive $410 billion spending bill, while Democrats hold the distinction of having the most earmarks for any one Senator.

Robert Rector, senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation commented that, "The fact that illegal aliens send a substantial portion of their earnings abroad reduces the stimulus effect that their employment has inside the United States," He further adds, "It's outrageous that in a bill designed to provide employment for Americans, Congress has deliberately chosen to allow jobs to be given to illegal immigrants."

Requiring verification of eligibility for employment in America is not at all unusual amongst those awarded Federal contract s. A recent example of the E-Verify system use to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants is the hiring announcement released yesterday, March 10, 2009 by the contractor responsible for building the new Forces Command Headquarters building at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Hensel Phelps Construction is the company that was awarded the contract to build the $286 million building that will be the new Headquarters for Forces Command and Army Reserve Command. FORSCOM/USARC is relocating from Atlanta to Fort Bragg, NC as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Plan (BRAC).

In referance to illegal immigrants the Hensel Phelps web-page states that for construction job applicants who hope to work on the FORSCOM project, the company uses the E-Verify program to confirm an individual's right to work in the United States. The E-Verify system is a service of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSN). Information on E-Verify can also be obtained at 1-888-464-4218.

In North Carolina, state legislators have introduced legislation that would require all state contractors receiving federal funds to verify workers' residency. North Carolina is home to both Army and Marine Corps bases, and is accustomed to dealing with federally funded contracts.

No one has been specifically named as being directly responsible for stripping the verification provision from the House-Senate compromise bill; Speaker Pelosi, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama are three likely possibilities.