Representative Heath Schuler (D-NC) introduced the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act (SAVE Act), H.R. 4088, in November 2007. This bill will damage our communities by increasing the deportation of workers and separating American children and spouses from their loved ones. It will not fix our broken immigration system.

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your representative, or send them an e-mail here. Tell them the SAVE Act would endanger our neighborhoods and hurt our workforce.

Why is this bill bad for our communities?

The SAVE Act will undermine community policing efforts by requiring local police departments to take on federal immigration duties. The bill mandates that local police departments participate in the 287(g) program (named for the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act from which it is drawn) which trains police officers to put undocumented immigrants into deportation proceedings. This approach to enforcing immigration laws breaks the trust between police officers and immigrant communities, hurting community policing efforts that have proven highly effective and discouraging immigrants from reporting crimes. Read more about why the 287(g) program will make our communities less safe.

The SAVE Act requires all employers to use a faulty employment verification system that will put workers at risk. A recent independent evaluation of the Basic Pilot/E-Verify system, which would be rapidly expanded under the bill, concluded that the system needs major improvements and that employers often misuse it. The SAVE Act does not protect employees' privacy despite the large amounts of personal information workers will be required to submit. The bill also does not offer recourse for workers who are wrongfully denied employment due to an error in the system. In fact, the SAVE Act doesn't even ensure that government databases will be accurate and updated. Read more about the problems with Basic Pilot/E-Verify.

 

The SAVE Act expands the problematic Social Security "no-match letter" program. Under this program, employers would be required to fire any employees whose information submitted on a W-2 form did not match the Social Security Administration database. Workers would only have 10 days to resolve such inconsistencies, which often arise even for U.S. citizens. The employer would also be required to report the problem to the Department of Homeland Security. The "no-match letter" program was recently halted by a federal judge because it placed a large burden on employers, and may result in tremendous harm - including loss of employment - for U.S. workers. Read more about the problems with the "no-match letter" program.

 

The SAVE Act will add thousands of immigrant detention beds beyond what the Department of Homeland Security has requested - at taxpayers' expense.  The President's FY 2009 budget asks for 1,000 additional immigrant detention beds, bringing the total number to 33,000.[1] The SAVE Act adds 8,000 beds - an expense that the Department of Homeland Security has not requested and that taxpayers should not be asked to absorb. Read more about the expense and human rights concerns of the U.S. immigrant detention system.

Contact your U.S. Representative TODAY and ask them to oppose the SAVE Act. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or e-mail here.

Click here to learn more about the SAVE Act and read the letter the National Immigrant Justice Center sent to Illinois members of the U.S. House of Representatives.