In an increased effort to determine the legal standing of construction workers, the Associated Builders and Contractors is recommending greater use of a website operated by the Department of Homeland Security.
The E-Verify system, originally launched in 1996 as the Basic Pilot Program, became a DHS tool roughly a decade later, with the goal of preventing companies from hiring people who were in violation of immigration laws.
The program, which the DHS operates in a partnership with the Social Security Administration, has been mandated for employers with either federal contracts or subcontracts, with nearly half of the states, primarily in the South and West, now requiring the use of E-Verify for some or all employers.
The program, asserts the Los Angeles Times, “is highly reliable and involves relatively little red tape.” As of late 2023, the publication added, “3.2 million employment sites nationwide were enrolled in E-Verify.”
In a press release dated June 4, ABC said it was recommending that “every contractor take all precautions in the hiring process to verify each potential employee is eligible to work legally in the U.S., including use the E-Verify system.”
The group said its goal is to work with the Trump administration and Congress to “create a market-based merit visa system that allows people who want to contribute to society and work legally in the construction industry to do so.”
At the same time, ABS is urging caution in the matter of mass deportations, noting that such actions could “constrain the availability of labor, which could stifle the ability of the industry to build the construction projects demanded by the marketplace.”
June 6, 2025
By Garry Boulard
