State Immigration Laws Lead to Uncertainty

Kim Thompson, chair of the firm's Global Immigration Practice Group and co-chair of the International Employment Practice Group, was quoted in the article "State Immigration Laws Lead to Uncertainty" in the August issue of HR Magazine. The article noted that employers are on edge due to numerous recent state laws requiring public employers and state contractors, and in some cases private employers, to verify the immigration status of job applicants. Most of the bills establish penalties for businesses that employ unauthorized immigrants. Kim said: "Employers are seeing a new state law coming out almost every day. They are scrambling around, saying, 'What are we supposed to do?'" Most of these laws require the use of E-Verify, the federal government's electronic verification system. Under federal law, the use of E-Verify is currently voluntary, but federal immigration legislation introduced in Congress during June would require all U.S. employers to use E-Verify. Kim added: "Hopefully, comprehensive federal immigration reform is on the horizon. But in the meantime, there will be confusion."