Coalition asks court to halt E-Verify

A coalition of business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, filed for an emergency court order Wednesday to prevent a rule from going into effect that would require federal contractors to verify the legal status of their workers.

The group, including the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. and Society for Human Resource Management, asked the U.S. District Court for Maryland for an emergency injunction to stop the Homeland Security Department from requiring contractors to use the so-called E-Verify system.

The rule is scheduled to go into effect Tuesday. The court rejected the coalition's lawsuit against the rule last week. The injunction would allow time for the coalition to pursue an appeal.

Angelo Amador, executive director of immigration policy for the Chamber, said the primary problem is that the rule would mandate that contractors verify the legal status of current workers, rather than only for new hires. Business groups also fear they could be held liable if their subcontractors hired illegal immigrants, he said.