Congress mandates nationwide employment verification, conditions federal grants on state data-sharin
S. 4620 — Mandatory E-Verify Act of 2026 · Filed by Katie Britt (R-AL) · 12 cosponsors · Introduced May 21, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill makes E-Verify—a federal employment eligibility verification system—permanent and mandatory for all U.S. employers. It requires employers to verify every new hire's work authorization through E-Verify on a staggered timeline (6–18 months depending on company size), imposes civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance, and conditions federal grants to states on their sharing of driver's license and identity data with the Department of Homeland Security. The bill also creates fraud-prevention mechanisms and allows individuals to voluntarily verify their own work eligibility.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is converting a voluntary pilot program into a mandatory, permanent federal employment verification system tied to immigration enforcement. While framed as employment eligibility verification, it functions as a mass data-collection and enforcement tool requiring state participation through federal funding conditions.
- Sections 10(3) condition federal economic development and community development block grants on state provision of driver's license data to DHS. This is substantively unrelated to employment verification and functions as a coercive funding rider.
- Section 11 amends 18 U.S.C. § 1546 (document fraud) to include work-authorization documents. While related to employment verification, this expands criminal liability beyond the bill's stated employment-verification purpose.
What the text implies
- Mass state-federal data-sharing: The bill conditions federal grants on states sharing driver's license photographs and personal identifying information with DHS for 'E-Verify purposes.' This creates a de facto national identity database without explicit legislative authorization for such a system, and states that refuse lose federal funding.
- Chilling effect on hiring: Employers face civil penalties ($2,500–$25,000 per violation) and potential debarment from federal contracts for E-Verify failures. This may incentivize discrimination against job applicants perceived as likely to trigger verification delays (citizens with name-matching issues, recent immigrants with documentation delays).
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
DHS contractors (system administration, data integration, fraud prevention); Identity verification technology vendors; Background check and employment screening companies