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District court rules in favor of Homeland Security on E-Verify – Nextgov.com

A federal district court denied a motion by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce against the Homeland Security Department this week that alleged the department’s program to electronically verify work eligibility of employees was illegal.

The U.S. District Court for Maryland, Southern Division ruled on Tuesday that DHS did not violate existing law by requiring all employers contracting with the federal government to use the E-Verify system to check the immigration status of new and existing employees to ensure their work eligibility.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claimed the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which included the E-Verify program as a statutory provision, prevents DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano from requiring anyone to use E-Verify, according to court documents.