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Washington, D.C. (August 9, 2021) – In an article by the Center for Immigration Studies, Andrew Arthur reports on an amendment to the infrastructure bill that would have guaranteed that the jobs from that bill would go to American workers. The amendment would have prohibited federal funding for any entity that failed to enroll in E-Verify, an internet database that allows employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. While 53 senators voted in favor of that amendment, it failed because 45 others (all Democrats) opposed it.
Andrew Arthur, the Center’s resident fellow in law and policy, said, “I can understand why every Republican and five Democrats present voted for Sen. Lankford’s E-Verify proposal. But I cannot fathom why 45 other Democrats voted to enable illegal aliens to be the recipients of good-paying, government-funded infrastructure jobs.”
Sen. Jim Lankford (R-Okla.) offered the amendment, which would have limited the provision of federal assistance, grants, and contracts authorized by that bill to entities that have enrolled in, and are complying with, E-Verify. If E-Verify were mandatory, illegal immigration would not end overnight, but the biggest benefits of illegal entry and overstay (living and working in the United States) would be much, much harder for illegal aliens to obtain.
Lankford’s amendment was consistent with the slated purposes of the infrastructure bill: To improve physical infrastructure in the United States, and to employ American workers (both citizens and lawfully admitted immigrants).
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