In August 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) outlined its enforcement objectives in a press release titled “Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law.”1 Many disbelieve that the DHS objectives are within existing law. The AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others, have mounted legal challenges against DHS, mainly focused on two of the objectives: (1) the “No-Match” regulation, and (2) requiring federal contractors to use E-Verify—the federal electronic employment verification system. The dust has, for the most part, settled, and it’s time to assess the results.

The Failure of ‘No Match’

A key DHS objective, mandating that employers terminate an employee if he or she is unable to resolve a Social Security Administration (SSA) “No-Match” letter, was rescinded sua sponte on Oct. 7, 2009.2 By way of background, “No-Match” letters are a notification to the employer of a mismatch between the information provided on the employment eligibility verification (I-9) form and the information available in the SSA or DHS databases. The proposed “No-Match” regulation, was blocked by court order. The DHS later stated that the “No-Match” determinations were “often due to typographical errors or unreported name changes.”3