Keeping Track (Feb. 26)

Article subtitle: 
Linn adds E-Verify
Article author: 
Alex Paul
Article publisher: 
democratherald.com
Article date: 
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Article category: 
Oregon Issues
Medium
Article Body: 

The story: In December, Salem resident David Cross asked the board of commissioners whether Linn County participated in the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify data, which can help employers determine whether someone has legal residency status in the U.S. The commissioners thought they had been using E-Verify, but were actually making in-depth background checks through the Social Security Administration database.

The latest: According to county administrator Ralph Wyatt, staff recently completed training with the E-Verify system and the county is now registered to use the free system. In addition to searching the Social Security database, E-Verify also searched more than 80 million Department of Homeland Security records. Seventeen of Oregon’s 36 counties are registered with E-Verify.