On Tuesday, March 10, in the U.S. Senate, during debate on the Omnibus Appropriations bill, Sen. Wyden voted to kill the E-Verify program by voting to table an amendment by Sen. Sessions that would have extended authorization for E-Verify for 5 years.

E-Verify is a voluntary program of the Department of Homeland Security that allows employers to ascertain quickly whether a new employee is legally authorized to work in the United States. At this time of economic stress and unprecedented job losses, E-Verify is needed to help ensure that available jobs go to legal American workers instead of illegal aliens.

As a constituent, I called Wyden’s office several times prior to the E-Verify vote, and his staff would not give any information on his position. Opponents’ most common charge against E-Verify is the wholly spurious one that people might wrongfully lose jobs because the program has not been fully vetted. In fact, the program originated in 1997 as the Basic Pilot Program, has been in operation for 10 years, and is now thoroughly vetted, having a 99.6% accuracy rate. To date, opponents have NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND an example of even ONE AMERICAN who lost a job due to problems with E-Verify, according to Roy Beck’s report, The Biggest 2 Lies About E-Verify; Arguments Opponents Use to Keep Hiring Illegal Aliens, at NumbersUSA

E-Verify’s reauthorization is extended only for 6 months by the Omnibus Appropriations bill. To string along on a month by month basis a program of this import shows intent by the Democratic Party leadership to end the program or to try to force amnesty on an unwilling public by tying together a longer reauthorization with amnesty for illegal aliens. 50 Democrats opposed the 5-year extension of E-Verify; 40 Republicans and 7 Democrats supported it.

Sen. Wyden’s vote, unfortunately, is in line with his long record of voting against measures to control illegal immigration, in favor of importing vast numbers of foreign workers, and in favor of the interests of illegal aliens, to the detriment of citizens and the well-being of this nation.

Americans for Better Immigration has tracked Congressional votes on immigration issues for many years and scores Senator Wyden F.

Senator Wyden has been in Congress continuously since 1981; ABI has tracked immigration voting records from 1989 to date. Wyden downplays the significance of his low grades by implying the ABI record is faulty. However, ABI’s records are based on the official Congressional vote tallies and on specific immigration bills that were considered in Congress.

A detailed record of the immigration bills on which he voted can be seen at NumbersUSA The few times he voted for controls helpful to citizens are greatly outnumbered by the many times he voted for amnesties to illegal aliens and other harmful measures. The bill descriptions in this list have embedded links to the official vote tally for each.

Oregon voters need to impress on Sen. Wyden the urgency of controlling immigration, or look for someone else to represent their interests in the U.S. Senate.

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