Texas Gov. Rick Perry Wednesday announced an executive order directing state agencies to use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of current and prospective employees.
Perry enacted the executive order citing the ongoing need to secure the southern border with Mexico while calling on Congress to pass a bill that provides states with the necessary funding and resources to secure the border.
“Texas’ increased law enforcement presence in the border region is all the more necessary as the federal government continues to ignore the very real issue of border security in favor of political posturing on immigration,” Perry said. “It’s clear now more than ever that Congress must finally pass a bill that dedicates the necessary resources to securing our border, once and for all. Without border security, immigration reform is a fruitless exercise.”
E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows employers to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the U.S. The
"While 17 state agencies already use E-Verify, the governor’s executive order expands its use to all state agencies under control of the Governor’s Office and all those with whom they enter into contracts for services to determine the work eligibility of employees and subcontractors," the governor's office said in a news release Wednesday.
Perry also said that President Obama's immigration reform will only lead to future mass migrations and that Texas has updated its contingency plan for dealing with such a situation.
Later that day, Attorney General and Gov.-elect Greg Abbott announced he had filed a lawsuit on behalf of a 17-state coalition claiming the president's immigration plan "trampled" on portions of the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit raises three objections: that Obama violated the "Take Care Clause" of the U.S. Constitution that limits the scope of presidential power; that the federal government violated rulemaking procedures; and that the order will "exacerbate the humanitarian crisis along the southern border, which will affect increased state investment in law enforcement, health care and education."
The Associated Press' Will Weissert contributed to this report.
