State will back off E-verify system opposition

Illinois officials agreed for the time being not to enforce a law that would make it illegal to enroll in the federal E-verify system, which allows employers to check whether a worker is authorized to work in the United States.

The state law, passed in August, was set to become effective Jan. 1. The Department of Homeland Security filed a lawsuit in September aimed at declaring the state law invalid.

In a filing Wednesday, the state agreed not to begin enforcing the law until the lawsuit is resolved. The filing also indicated legislators are considering a revision of the law that would address the problems raised in the lawsuit.

The changes would include a clause that discourages, but does not prohibit, enrollment in the E-verify program, according to a statement from state Sen. Iris Martinez, a sponsor of the original law. And it would declare that the state will not participate in the system until its accuracy is improved, according to the statement.

Critics of the system say it incorrectly identifies one in 10 naturalized citizens as illegal immigrants.

Some have pegged the accuracy rate at below 50 percent.

A companion state law -- which makes it a civil rights violation to fire or refuse to hire someone based on information from the E-verify system without following certain procedures -- will still go into effect on Jan. 1.

E-verify procedures prohibit employers from firing a worker on the basis of an initial check. A final determination must be made first.

And employers must use the system in the same way for all new hires, regardless of race or ethnicity.

More than 900 employers in Illinois have enrolled in the program, according to Homeland Security statistics.