A new bill introduced in the House by Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) would significantly increase fines and jail time for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens or fail to verify their employment eligibility using a new procedure outlined in the bill. The Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 98) increases penalties for each hiring offense of up to $50,000, up from fines ranging between $275 and $16,000 under current law. Offending employers could also be liable for deportation costs. In addition, employers would face jail sentences of up to five years per offense, up from the current maximum six-month sentence. The bill likewise authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to bring a civil action against an employer who fails to pay the assessed penalty.

The legislation would create a new identification verification system by which employers can more easily check on a potential hire’s employment eligibility. In essence, the Act amends the Social Security Act by requiring Social Security cards to contain an encrypted machine-readable electronic identification strip and digital photo that would enable employers to verify an individual’s identification by using a phone verification system or running the card through a card reader.

The Act further authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to establish and maintain an Employment Eligibility Database, to which employers would have access. An employer who follows the appropriate steps to verify a potential hire’s work eligibility would not be liable for hiring an illegal alien if an error was made by the phone verification system, the card-reader verification system, or the Employment Eligibility Database and the employer was unaware of such error. The employer must also terminate the undocumented worker upon being informed of the error.

If signed into law, the provisions of this legislation would take effect two years after the date of enactment. This bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, the House Homeland Security Committee, and the House Education and Labor Committee.