Respected business and immigration attorney Rodney Malpert is a partner at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, based in Phoenix. Rodney Malpert is a noted expert on visa issues and the process of hiring foreign workers. He has spoken at several industry conferences hosted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
AILA advocates on behalf of immigrant workers and their American employers. The association has taken an opposing stance on the expansion of E-Verify, which compares employee I-9 information against several databases, including records from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
Currently, enrollment in the E-Verify program is voluntary for the majority of employers. However, the E-Verify System Act of 2018, presented before the United States Senate in the summer of 2018, would make enrollment mandatory for all businesses.
AILA opposes any expansion of E-Verify before the implementation of comprehensive immigration reform that would offer eligible undocumented immigrants paths to citizenship or legalization. In a study of states with E-Verify mandates, researchers found that the program hinders economic opportunities for some undocumented workers.
E-Verify is also costly to implement. A nationwide enforcement of the program could cost Americans more than $3 billion in taxpayer money.
