By Laura Gorham
Most Floridians are unaware of E-Verify, the employment verification system used to track workers’ employment eligibility status, but they still want to significantly increase its usage, according to recent research conducted by the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education.
Researchers collected 507 responses from Florida residents through an online survey, with the intention of providing an overview of public opinion about undocumented immigration.
The survey touched on respondents’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions about many aspects of undocumented immigration, including their knowledge of the E-Verify system. The current Senate immigration bill includes a provision to expand and extend E-Verify as a major provision to immigration reform.
E-Verify is an Internet-based employment verification system that compares information from a person’s employment paperwork to Homeland Security and Social Security records to determine workers’ eligibility status in the United States.
According to Verify I-9, Florida requires state agencies to use the E-Verify system to verify eligibility of state employees and contractors. However, private employers are not required to use E-Verify.
PIE Center Director Tracy Irani found the survey showed knowledge gaps in public perceptions generally and knowledge of the verification system specifically.
Only 34.9 percent of respondents in the survey said they knew what E-Verify was, and 35.6 percent were unclear about how many employers in Florida are required to use E-Verify.
“There were some knowledge gaps in the responses people gave, knowledge about E-Verify being one of them,” Irani said. “I think this is a prime example of the need for targeted education to raise the knowledge and awareness levels of members of the public around a specific issue that’s going to be affecting everybody.”
The federal immigration reform bill, currently with the Senate Judiciary Committee, will strengthen employment verification processes.
“This is a major piece of legislation that, if it passes, is going to have a lot of significant effects,” Irani said.
The amendment will likely expand and refine the E-Verify system, proposing to provide employers a faster and more reliable method to confirm whether new hires are legally authorized to work in the U.S. In addition, employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers would face stiff fines and criminal penalties.
Amendments to the current immigration bill correspond to the 70.7 percent of those surveyed who believe that E-Verify should be required for all employers., while 31.5 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that it should be voluntary for all employers.
Survey respondents reported similar levels of agreement for both state and federal law requirements for E-Verify. Sixty-nine percent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that state law should require E-Verify and 66.8 percent agree or strongly agree that federal law should require it.
This research was designed to provide an overall understanding of what residents in Florida think about the state of immigration and issues surrounding undocumented immigration, defined as “foreign nationals residing in the U.S. without legal immigration status…resulting from someone entering the country without permission or remaining in the U.S. after a legal visa expires.”
This is one of several public opinion surveys the PIE Center is conducting to monitor statewide trends in public opinion on major issues. The PIE Center will conduct four public opinion trend panels each year that focus on key issues in Florida, such as water quantity and quality, immigration, endangered species and food production. The surveys will repeat annually to track changes in public opinion over time.
“Florida is considered a bellwether state,” Irani said. “It’s usually on the cutting edge of a lot of trends that happen nationally.”
