For years, some employers have claimed that a construction “labor shortage” requires ever more foreign labor. Industry data now show what was actually in short supply: fair wages. As immigration enforcement has stepped up, construction pay has climbed nearly 4 percent year over year, with specialized trades in some markets up 9 to 11 percent — exactly the pattern the Penn Wharton Budget Model predicted when it projected a 5 percent wage gain for authorized low-skilled workers under sustained enforcement.

I urge you to support and pass S. 1151, the Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act, to make E-Verify mandatory nationwide. Requiring every employer to verify work authorization would end the illegal hiring that suppressed these wages for decades and would keep the jobs magnet switched off no matter who occupies the White House.

Enforcement gains achieved through executive policy can be undone by the next administration; a statute cannot. Please help build an immigration system that works for the American people by making mandatory E-Verify the law of the land.

Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA

Sent to:
Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff