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    What happened to wages of native-born workers after Arizona passed E-Verify?

    Day laborers in Phoenix, Arizona (AP)Lawmakers in several states have vowed to pass undocumented employer sanction laws after the Supreme Court upheld Arizona's this year. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has drummed up some support to pass a federal version in Congress that would require all employers to use the government's E-Verify database to ensure their employees are authorized to work--or risk losing their business license.

    Arizona provides a case study for the effects of a tough E-Verify law on the labor market.

    According to a study released this year by the Public Policy Institute of California, about 92,000 or 17 percent of the Hispanic non-citizen population of Arizona left in the year after the state passed E-Verify legislation. The researchers say most of them were illegal immigrants, and determined that the recession was not the cause of the exodus by comparing the migration patterns to those of other states.

    After this exodus of mostly illegal immigrants, wages did not budge for native-born residents, the study found. More of the remaining Hispanic immigrants became self-employed over the same period, suggesting that they were pushed into informal and underground jobs as employers no longer wanted to take the risk of hiring them formally after the law passed.

    E-Verify is a federal system that combines Social Security data with Department of Homeland Security immigration data. For authorized workers, the system is right about 99 percent of the time. (That error margin adds up: If applied to the whole workforce, nearly 800,000 people would be falsely flagged by the system.)  A person only has 8 days to appeal if the system falsely labels him or her as an illegal immigrant. Meanwhile, the program only correctly identifies illegal immigrants about half the time.

    So far, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Utah have adopted mandatory E-Verify laws.

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    • Joseph  •  Sioux Falls, South Dakota  •  16 days ago
      well we should tear down the lady liberty or a least change her tablet to say we dont stand for you no more and we wonder why the world hates us
    • Patriot1  •  Chantilly, Virginia  •  5 mths ago
      It is a false hood to demise that if we caught and expelled permanently 50% of the illegal work force, and relieved the burden on the schools and medical system that it would not relieve the financial burden on the remainder of the legal tax paying public. The short of it I can write a report load it full of false figures using the numbers I choose, and make it sound like anything I want it to. The President has already tried this in a similar fashion with the unemployment figures, imagine that its going down the closer it gets to the election, and then right after the election is over up they go again. Sorry once again common sense prevails.
    • Adam T  •  Chicago, United States  •  6 mths ago
      E-Verify is not designed to raise wages. It's a law enforcement tool.
      • Chris 6 mths ago
        Yes, but we are told that these immigrants are paid at a sub-minimum wage level and that if native born Americans were to take the same jobs based on their status that their wages should rise accordingly.
      • Scott 6 mths ago
        In a good economy, yes, over time low income wages will rise. The cost of labor has everything to do with the supply.
      • Steven Mitchell 6 mths ago
        Then you should deport those who put immigration into labor recuitment to begin with.... Now you want to deport they same people you imported?
    • Ronin Katana Swords  •  6 mths ago
      As a business owner, I would never put my company at risk by hiring illegals. When I have job openings, those positions go to Americans. I thought that was how it was supposed to work. Sad we have to pass laws to make people do the right thing.
      • Jim C 6 mths ago
        I wish more employers had your attitude. Kudos to you for hiring Americans.
      • Anya J 6 mths ago
        You are lucky, it only takes a couple in your business field to make the entire job market in that area collapse. Like with house construction, only takes a few buildters hiring illegals for $5 an hour under the table to cause other builders to do the same thing in order to compete...and then it is Americans who lose those jobs that used to pay decent wages
      • D 6 mths ago
        idk any illegals that do construction for $5 an hour.. you guys are so misinformed its hilarious
    • Robert  •  Huntington Beach, United States  •  6 mths ago
      This wasn't meant to raise wages in general or even the minimum wage. It was meant to transfer jobs away from illegal's to citizens, regardless of the wage in question. If any employer hires an illegal now (under the table), it is intentionally breaking the law and can not cry ignorance of the worker's status.
      • areae 6 mths ago
        so then clearly, the unemployment rate must have dropped, right? Right?
      • Hilda Orduno 6 mths ago
        I seriously doubt it, most Americans (read whites and wanna bes) won't stoop to working those jobs, they would rather be on welfare.
      • Wut 6 mths ago
        Wow Hilda, weren't you just in a previous comment talking about bigotry? Your hypocrisy is absolutely baffling. Also, your racism is showing. Might want to cover that up.
    • Stan  •  6 mths ago
      Don't forget. Reagan passed the amnesty for Illegal Immigrants. Bush Sr., Bush Jr., and Clinton did nothing to stop Illegal Immigartion. It is not a liberal or a conservative issue. It is all about Greed. E- Verify is good first step. We need to also stop outsourcing of high value jobs.
      • saguaro 6 mths ago
        #$%$ They did not outsource low end jobs here they imported cheap help to take them. Someone actually may do something if a bunch of very high end jobs are outsourced. Let in more H1bs and screw the people that have not spoken up about illegal immigration. Let their wages get slaughtered.
      • J 6 mths ago
        Obama has done the worst job ever on our laws! On illegal aliens and giving them rights and rewards They have NO RIGHTS!. But you are right as well all the other Presidents have done NOTHING! All due to the illegal alien votes! Against the LAW!
      • Larry 6 mths ago
        Reagan said many times in later years that he made a mistake giving amnesty to illegal aliens and regretted it.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Branson, United States  •  6 mths ago
      If they are here illegally [ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS] E-verify should have been required federally well before now. This is insane that we [the people] are still wanting for this to be put in place.
      • Jessica d 6 mths ago
        What i find insane is that an electronic program is now able to rule the lives of American citizens, because everybody who wants a job would have to go through that system. If you've ever had to fight red tape, or corporate bureaucracy, you'll know what a hassle this will be for the 800,000 people who will be affected by false flaggings.

        Oh, and it won't flag all illegals, so its' the business equivalent of sending more and more innocent people to "jail" (i.e., denied jobs), letting more and more guilty ones go free, because you're relying upon a faulty system.
      • far_from_left 6 mths ago
        Richard, these are lib voters were talking about! Jessica, why so paranoid? They are watching your posts too!
      • Larry 6 mths ago
        Jessica, the same could be said for murderers and rapists.. So maybe we should not check anyone for anything as it always snags a few that are innocent. What a great country that would be, huh jessica.
    • David W  •  6 mths ago
      This is news??? Wages have been flat across the country for years. At least Arizona got rid of a lot of their ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in the process.
    • rick j  •  Richmond, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Who cares!! If your an amercan citizen then yes you do have the right to work here!!! And if you wish to work here and are legal you will be given legal paper work to prove it!!!! Enforce the laws!!!!!!!!!!!
    • Luca Brasi  •  Atlanta, United States  •  6 mths ago
      That's potentially 92,000 jobs for actual Americans. I fail to see the down side to this.
    • Jacy  •  Danville, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Does anyone remember when your kids were old enough to get a job mowing your neighbor's lawn or go work at a fast food restaurant or some other entry level job. This helped them to learn responsibility, gave them spending money and taught them the value of a dollar. Those jobs are now done by MANY illegals.
    • David  •  San Diego, United States  •  6 mths ago
      "According to a study released this year by the Public Policy Institute of California, about 92,000 or 17 percent of the Hispanic non-citizen population of Arizona left in the year after the state passed E-Verify legislation. "

      "Hispanic non-citizens" Would that be people who broke the law to enter the US? We call them illegal immigrants.

      17 percent left the state, sounds like a success to me.
    • Tim  •  6 mths ago
      You are welcome to E-Verify me any time.
    • Paul  •  Los Angeles, United States  •  6 mths ago
      "It identifies illegal aliens only half the time..." Isn't that a good enough freakin start since not doing it misses all of them?
    • Paythepriceasyougo  •  6 mths ago
      You notice the major flaw of this article. It mentioned wages remained the same but did not mention unemployment rate change for US citizens; now that job openings increased. Wages do not increase unless there is a very high demand for specific positions. General labor wages, mainly, remain constant until there is a sharp increase in demand for workers.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Twin Falls, United States  •  6 mths ago
      A good start but who knows how many of the illegals just moved to another state and NOT back to where they came from. The only way this will really work is if every state has to to it, then they will have no where else to go but home. The Feds should have passed the same type of law that Arizona did years ago!
    • JJ  •  La Mirada, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Only illegals would have problem with E-Verify ! The law is working if 92,000 of illegals left Arizona. If this was a nationalwide law the illegals will have to return to their own countries and free up jobs and resources for legals.
    • Richard  •  Houston, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Come On Do It Legal..My Grand Parent's Did
    • Mark  •  Winthrop, United States  •  6 mths ago
      What a FLUFF article. What really needs to be noted is that after these criminals left the progressive state of Arizona what is the drop in the social, educational and medical cost to the law abiding hardworking tax payer. I am sure Arizona will a huge drop in the costs associated with criminals stealing these services. What is the drop in the crime rate and with lower crime how much is being saved the taxpayer in lower costs to the policing and judicial services. What is the amount saved by lowering the fear of violent crimes against honest citizens. Priceless......
    • ZIP  •  6 mths ago
      50% is a step in the right direction verses the ZERO % we have now. These folks are illegal aliens if they have no respect for your nation’s boarders they have no respect period. Freedom is not free for the taking there are a host of responsibilities that come with it. Above all is to OBEY the LAW!!!
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