Administration Further Delays E-Verify Requirement As the Obama administration announced another delay in requiring federal contractors to use the E-Verify system, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reaffirmed her support for the system that verifies workers’ eligibility for employment. The administration pushed back until Sept. 8 the rule that would require most federal contractors to check their employees’ immigration status through E-Verify. It is the fourth delay in the rule that was originally supposed to take effect Jan. 15. The announcement said the new administration needs more time to review it. But the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group supporting strict enforcement of immigration laws, protested, “The delay provides further evidence of the Obama administration’s unwillingness to enforce U.S. immigration laws and its intent to abandon even minimal protections for American workers struggling to find jobs as the economic crisis drags on.” Speaking June 3 to the Aspen Institute in Washington, Napolitano said the administration will ask for more funding for E-Verify. Congress must decide this year whether to reauthorize the program, which was originally a pilot. In testimony last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the secretary declared, “E-Verify is continuously improving its accuracy.” She said more than 122,000 employers are now using the system and 96% of queries immediately confirm that the individual is eligible to work. “E-Verify is an essential tool for employers to maintain a legal workforce,” she testified. While use of E-Verify is voluntary for most employers, when Napolitano was governor of Arizona she signed legislation making it mandatory for businesses in the state. Several other states have similar laws. Napolitano has taken no public position on the contractor rule. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have sued to block the mandatory use of E-Verify by contractors. The lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Maryland.