Who's Side Is Congress On ?

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions has blasted Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for striping E-Verify from the stimulus package.

E-Verify is a federal employment eligibility system operated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. Participating employers can check the work status of new hires online by comparing information from an employee's I-9 form against Social Security and Homeland Security databases. The system is free to employers and is the best method available to determine employment eligibility.

The availability of jobs for illegal aliens is the magnet that caused the massive illegal immigration problem for America, therefore, ending the availability of jobs for illegal aliens would be a major factor in reducing illegal immigration to the United States.

On Thursday, Senator Sessions attempted to get E-Verify back into the stimulus package and cited studies from the Center for Immigration Studies and the Heritage Foundation that said that several hundred thousand jobs created by the package would go to illegal aliens without E-Verify.

Sessions pointed out that President Obama has already delayed mandatory use of the E-Verify system for federal contractors and that the program was set to expire on March 6 unless there is a reauthorization.

Senator Sessions had this to say about removing the E-Verify program to require that any contractor benefiting from the stimulus package hired only those lawfully allowed to work in United States;

"The purpose of the bill is to put Americans back to work. Is is common sense to include a simple requirement that the people hired to fill stimulus-created jobs be lawful American residents. The Democrats' actions are a clear signal that they want to use taxpayer money to employ people who are in this country illegally. It's ironic that the passage of the final version of the legislation, which will result in a massive expansion of government, could also result in the termination of one of the few government programs that have proven effective and useful."

On Friday the stimulus bill cleared congress without E-Verify protection for American citizens and legal residents and awaits the presidents signature to become law.

In a related development, the unemployment rate for the American worker continues to rise.