Systems to verify worker IDs set for overhaul
Employers now will be able to query one system using numbers assigned to workers on their permanent resident cards and employment authorization documents.
The Homeland Security Department is revamping its electronic systems for helping employers verify the identities of workers and for storing biometric and biographic information on people who apply for immigration benefits.
President Bush said on Monday that helping employers verify people's right to work in the country is a critical part of the administration's effort for comprehensive immigration reform.
"We must create a better system for employers to verify the legality of their workers," Bush said in a speech along the Arizona-Mexico border. He also called for issuing workers new tamper-resistant cards that prove they are able to work in the country.
In response, Homeland Security is updating it's so-called "verification information system," a database of immigration status containing more than 100 million records, according to a Federal Register notice published Friday. The system is the technical backbone for the Basic Pilot program, which employers can voluntarily access to verify that employees can work here.
Under the changes, employers now will be able to query the system using numbers assigned to workers on their permanent resident cards and employment authorization documents. Additionally, the department is testing another upgrade that would let employers compare photographs on worker ID cards to digitally stored photos.
"These enhancements will significantly improve the speed at which [the department] will be able to verify the employment eligibility of many non-citizen new hires and reduce the likelihood of identity fraud through forged documents," the notice states. "In order to support programmatic goals, the system will also have improved audit and reporting capability so that [the department] can better identify misuse of the system and programs supported by the system."
In a separate Federal Register notice Friday, the department announced the creation of a centralized database called the Biometric Storage System. It will store all biometric and biographic data that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services collects on people applying for immigration benefits. The data is used by CIS to conduct background checks, facilitate card production, and accurately identify applicants.
"Currently, no system exists that centrally manages all of this data," the notice states. The system "will store the biometric information, thereby decreasing the burden on applicants by negating the need to provide multiple sets of biometric data."
The notice adds that the system "will consolidate storage of information from multiple, separate systems into a centralized database, allowing for greater control, security and management of the data. [It] also will provide increased functionality over current systems, and improved communication between government databases and personnel, facilitating more efficient processing of applications."
The new system will replace the Image Storage and Retrieval System and portions of the Biometric Benefit Support System.
Applicants who apply for immigration benefits must give the department 10 fingerprints. They would be made available to other identity verification systems, including US-VISIT, which tracks foreigners coming into the country.