Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act

This bill expands the E-Verify program by requiring all employers to use it and permanently reauthorizes the program. Currently, E-Verify use is voluntary for most employers, although some states mandate its use.

All employers must use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all recruited, referred, or hired individuals, including current employees who were never verified under the program. Failure to use E-Verify shall create a rebuttable presumption that the employer is violating immigration law.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must generate weekly reports about individuals who have received a final nonconfirmation of employment eligibility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must use the report to enforce immigration laws.

The bill increases civil and criminal penalties for hiring non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who are not authorized to work. DHS must bar repeat offenders and those criminally convicted from holding federal contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.