Bill would require Arkansas employers, universities to verify Social Security numbers
12 January, 2009
category: Education, Government
Proposed legislation has been filed in Arkansas that would require local governments and state agencies, including universities, to verify a student’s or potential employee’s Social Security number before he’s issued an ID card.
Designed to protect against terrorists and the hiring or granting of in-state tuition to illegal aliens, the bill would force governments and colleges to use the federal government’s electronic employment verification system, E-Verify, to check Social Security numbers. Critics, however, say E-Verify can only determine whether a Social Security number is valid, not whether a person who is presenting the number for employment or for admission is the person who was issued the number by the Social Security Administration.
An official at the University of Arkansas said Social Security numbers of potential students are now checked through a federal database called the National Student Clearing House, not E-Verify. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a bill last year requiring employers to use E-Verify but the Senate never took it up.
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