Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Wherein U.S. Citizens Are Presumed Illegal

Matt Welch | 6.10.2008 11:55 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

The Bush administration, in an aggressive new effort to keep illegal immigrants out of the workforce, on Monday ordered all companies doing business with the federal government to begin ensuring their employees can legally work in the U.S.

The order will require thousands of firms to use a government system called E-Verify to check workers' Social Security numbers. […]

Firms doing business with the government risk losing their contracts if they break federal rules.

What's the problem with that? What part about "illegal" don't they understand???? Oh wait:

[I]n 2006 the Social Security inspector general found discrepancies in 17.8 million records for citizens and legal immigrants[.]

Women sometimes change their last names when getting married. The Social Security Administration database sometimes generates its own mistakes through sloppy data entry or god knows what else. Does your company employ 24 people? If so, one of your co-workers, on average, has a discrepancy in the SSA database, and would therefore disqualify your company from contracting with the feds until the error is fixed and certified. Good luck with that!

And as almost always happens, another "fix" on illegal immigration ends up punishing U.S. citizens.

Kerry Howley on E-Verify here and here and here and here.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Matt Welch and Ramesh Ponnuru on John McCain and Bob Barr

Matt Welch is an editor at large at Reason.

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (31)

Latest

Raw Milk Debates Are Turning Sour in Florida

C. Jarrett Dieterle | 8.30.2025 7:00 AM

Federal Appeals Court Says Trump's Tariffs Are Unlawful, Allows Them To Remain in Place

Eric Boehm | 8.29.2025 7:10 PM

Trump's Tariffs and Immigration Policies Are Why Your Amazon Packages Are So Expensive and Will Take Forever

Jack Nicastro | 8.29.2025 6:20 PM

Neither Cranks Nor Hacks Should Head HHS

Matt Welch | 8.29.2025 3:16 PM

Trump's $4.9 Billion 'Pocket Rescission' Violates Federal Law and Usurps Congressional Authority

Eric Boehm | 8.29.2025 1:30 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300