Tom Lee amendment puts discretion for E-Verify enforcement with Dep’t of Economic Opportunity

Tom Lee continues to push for stronger enforcement in his E-Verify bill. Image via Colin Hackley.

Proposed E-Verify requirements in the Senate will leave to the Department of Economic Opportunity how employability verification gets enforced.

A substitute amendment filed by Sen. Tom Lee on his E-Verify bill (SB 664) leaves less discretion to employers looking for ways around the process.

The change dumps language added in Senate Commerce that left Lee encouraging Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto the bill if approved in its current form. With the latest strike-all amendment, Lee feels better the law will be enforced.

“This will give the DEO some rule-making authority to come up with alternative systems, but they are the judge of what gets approved,” Lee said. “Under the other bill, you could use psychics and palm-readers.”

Now, the Thonotosassa Republican feels comfortable the bill will be something DeSantis can and should sign.

The goal for supporters of E-Verify remains to put in place requirements private employers properly validate workers can legally be employed in the United States.

As written the bill calls on employers to use the federal E-Verify database or a state-approved alternative.

The newest language from Lee’s office also drops the threshold for exempting small businesses from the process, and will place the expectation on any company with 50 employees or more.

The Senator acknowledges the legislation leaves significant discretion to the executive branch when it comes to strict enforcement.

“That’s always the danger of delegating authority to the administration rather than putting it in statute,” he said.

But he feels it would be difficult for any administration to justify a verification process that was less than rigorous.

E-Verify has proven to be one of the most divisive issues of the Legislative Session, with leadership for the House and Senate expressing skepticism over a priority of DeSantis. The Governor, a Republican, has suggested Republican special interests have created barriers to mandatory E-Verify requirements in Florida.

Notably, the Senate version has considerably stronger enforcement provisions than the version just passed by a House committee, the first E-Verify legislation ever to make it that far in the lower chamber.

As one example, Lee’s bill says that employers who run a worker through E-Verify and learn the individual is not eligible to work in the U.S. should immediately notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement. No such language appears in the House bill.

The House also allows more businesses to use the alternative I-9 verification process rather than immediate electronic validation.

Neither version has entire industries carved out, as the Senate earlier this session considered doing for agriculture employers.

But after seeing the Senate for the first time pass a ban on sanctuary cities last year, Lee feels confident the chamber can pass the bill with stronger language.

The bill, though, continues to be controversial on the right and left.

Leaders of the Fraternity of Hispanic Councils  & Evangelical Entities of Florida and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship quickly issued comments slamming requirements as a threat to Florida families.

“As free and faithful baptized believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we accept His command to go into all the world, taking His message of love and forgiveness to people everywhere. On behalf of the congregations we humbly serve, we urge our elected leaders’ opposition to E-Verify legislation,” said Bishop Ángel Marcial, FRACEEV founder and board member.

“Our faith extols the dignity of work, the justice of fair wages, and welcome to the foreign-born to live and work in the land. These are basic values of a biblically inspired just economy. It is also wise public policy. Without federal immigration reform, proposals to implement E-Verify in the state of Florida is dangerous and cruel.”

And corporate leaders, many of them major Republican donors, have rallied the Chamber of Commerce crowd against legislation as well, fearful of government putting burdens on business.

“The hospitality industry relies on immigrant labor, and just 11% of Carnival employees are U.S.-born,” said former Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Bob Dickinson.

“We need real solutions to fix our immigration system— but mandatory E-Verify is not that, and just hurts families and the Florida economy without addressing the root problem. We need solutions at the federal level that include providing work permits to people who’ve lived here for a long time, work and pay taxes.”

That’s been frequent opposition to the bill, that until leaders in Congress tackle reform at the federal level, E-Verify requirements only threaten Florida’s economy.

But the legislation boasts support in the Legislature. Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican who co-introduced Lee’s original bill, said he’s confident a measure will pass.

“Tom Lee is doing a great job with this,” Gruters said. “We have two weeks and we are plugging away.”

And Lee said he’s continuing to push for a bill with teeth.

“We are getting really close to where we can see this as a policy win for the enforcement of federal labor laws,” Lee said.