Colleges Face Mandatory E-Verify Checks and Loss of Federal Aid Under New Bill

This proposed legislation, the "College Employment Accountability Act," introduces new rules for colleges and universities regarding who they hire. At its core, the bill mandates that institutions of higher education use the E-Verify system to check the employment eligibility of their staff. It also links compliance directly to federal money, meaning schools could lose access to federal student aid and institutional funding if they're found employing unauthorized workers or not using E-Verify as required.

The New Hiring Hurdle: E-Verify Everywhere

The biggest shift here is the requirement for all higher education institutions to participate in the E-Verify Program (Sec. 3). E-Verify is an electronic system run by the government that compares information from an employee's Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) to records available to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration to confirm employment authorization. For colleges, this means integrating a new step into their hiring process for potentially every employee, from professors to groundskeepers. This could translate into more administrative work and potentially longer hiring timelines.

High Stakes: Federal Funding Tied to Compliance

The bill raises the stakes significantly by tying immigration compliance to federal dollars (Sec. 2). If an institution is found to be violating Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (which deals with hiring unauthorized workers) or simply isn't participating in E-Verify as mandated, it becomes ineligible for federal student aid programs (like Pell Grants or federal student loans) and federal institutional aid. Losing this funding could have major downstream effects, potentially impacting everything from research programs to the amount of financial aid available to students.

Watching the Watchers: DHS Monitoring

To ensure schools are following the rules, the Department of Homeland Security is tasked with monitoring every institution's E-Verify participation every six months (Sec. 4). If DHS finds a college isn't participating or is otherwise violating immigration employment laws, it must notify the Secretary of Education within 10 days. This creates a direct line from immigration enforcement to education funding, putting institutions under regular scrutiny.

Potential Ripple Effects

While aiming to ensure compliance with employment laws, this bill could create several practical challenges. Colleges will face new administrative costs and processes. There's also the potential for errors – E-Verify isn't perfect and can sometimes incorrectly flag authorized workers, leading to delays or job loss. Concerns might also arise about potential discrimination, where institutions could become hesitant to hire foreign-born individuals to avoid compliance risks. Ultimately, if an institution were to lose federal funding, the impact could be felt most acutely by students relying on that aid to afford their education.