College Bill Mandates E-Verify, Threatens Automatic Loss of All Student Aid for Hiring Violations

This legislation, dubbed the College Employment Accountability Act, makes two major changes to how colleges and universities operate if they receive federal funding. First, it immediately mandates that every institution receiving federal student aid dollars—think Pell Grants and federal loans—must now use the E-Verify program to check the employment eligibility of every new hire (SEC. 3). Second, and this is the big one, if a school is found to have violated existing immigration hiring laws (specifically Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act), that school automatically loses all federal funding, including student aid, institutional grants, and federal loans (SEC. 2).

The New Job Interview: Mandatory E-Verify

Right now, many employers use E-Verify, a federal system that compares employee information from the I-9 form to records held by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration. This bill makes it non-negotiable for colleges that accept federal aid. If your local community college or state university takes federal student aid money, they must now use E-Verify for every new employee, from the campus bookstore manager to the newest professor (SEC. 3). This standardizes the hiring process across higher education and gives DHS a clear compliance metric to monitor.

The Nuclear Option: Automatic Funding Cutoff

Section 2 introduces a penalty that is exceptionally severe. If a college is found to have violated Section 274A—which deals with hiring people unauthorized to work in the U.S.—they become instantly ineligible for any federal money. This isn't a slap on the wrist; it’s a total financial shutdown. For students, this means if your university accidentally hires one person who wasn't authorized, you could suddenly lose your Pell Grant or federal student loan money because the school is no longer eligible to participate in the federal aid program. This massive, immediate penalty for a single violation creates existential risk for institutions, and the students relying on them.

DHS Gets a Seat at the Registrar’s Table

To ensure compliance, the bill assigns the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a new, expanded monitoring role over higher education. DHS is required to check every six months to confirm that colleges are participating in E-Verify (SEC. 4). If DHS finds that a school is either not using E-Verify or has violated the hiring law (Section 274A), they must notify the Department of Education within a tight 10-day window. This rapid reporting mechanism ensures that the automatic funding cutoff penalty can be triggered quickly, bypassing traditional administrative review processes. This shift puts a significant enforcement burden on DHS and introduces a new layer of federal oversight into university operations.