WASHINGTON — 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. The system has been voluntary for private firms but mandatory for government agencies.
The policy, which initially applies to new hires, eventually could affect millions of federal contract workers nationwide whose jobs range from serving cafeteria food to launching NASA spacecraft. The step is one of several the administration planned after Congress failed last year to pass an overhaul of immigration laws.
"The federal government should lead by example and not by exhortation," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who has encouraged firms to use E-Verify.
Groups advocating immigration restrictions have embraced E-Verify as a way to weed out illegal workers. But it has been criticized by business groups and immigrant advocates because errors in the Social Security database can lead to red-flagging legal residents.
And with the rapid expansion of federal contracting under President Bush, some critics questioned whether the order would be workable.
"I just don't know how the administration is going to enforce this," said Paul C. Light, a New York University professor and federal contracting expert who said such outsourcing had grown by 70% under Bush. "It's a very large number and very difficult to track. Who is responsible for making sure the sub-sub-sub-contractor is using E-Verify?"
E-Verify is already a success, Chertoff said, predicting that the executive order would affect "hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of workers."
Chertoff made the announcement during an appearance with Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez in which they touted administration progress in enforcing immigration laws and beefing up border security. They also urged Congress to pass an immigration overhaul including guest worker programs, enforcement, and some accommodation for illegal immigrants currently in the United States.
"We cannot neglect our economic security, and that is exactly what we're doing by neglecting comprehensive immigration reform," said Gutierrez, who worked with Chertoff and a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the 2007 legislation.
