The Trump administration is planning to expand the E-Verify rule to ensure that groups applying for federal grants do not hire illegal migrant workers.
Proposed new regulations released by the White House Office of Management and Budget would require all federal grant recipients to enroll in E-Verify and to run all hires through the system to continue to qualify to receive their grant money, Bloomberg reported.
The new rules would be a big change for past grant applicants who never had to use E-Verify before.
The addition of E-Verify is part of the White House’s renewed efforts to root out fraud in federal spending and programs. Grant applicants would risk big fines if they don’t follow the new guidance. Fines range from $288 to $2,861 for every faulty I-9 form submitted.
The requirement is not exactly a new thing for federal contractors because many such businesses have had to enroll in the program since 2009. Still, the proposed rules change would expand the requirement to enroll in E-Verify and would encompass grant applicants in fields including healthcare, education, public parks, and childcare service provides.
Bloomberg added that federal contractors with projects totaling more than $150,000 are required to use E-Verify, but there is no threshold stated for grant recipients in the new OMB rules proposal, apparently meaning that all grant applicants, no matter how small, must be ready to enroll in E-Verify and run all hires through the system.
The rules also state that “subrecipients” — or companies working with a grant recipient — would also have to run hires through E-Verify if they get any money through a federal source.
OMB explained that the new E-Verify rules are “intended to strengthen compliance with Federal employment eligibility requirements for individuals performing work under Federal awards.”
While the OMB rules proposal does not specifically mention the president’s immigration policy goals, the E-Verify rules change is most certainly just one more aspect of Trump’s efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement.
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