The Bizarre World of Immigration Law

The following item was posted by Government Executive Senior Correspondent Katherine McIntire Peters.

The country’s schizophrenic approach to immigration was on full display this week. On Tuesday, Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) bureau rolled out an enhanced version of its E-Verify program, an electronic screening tool aimed at identifying illegal workers during the hiring process. Employers participate in the program voluntarily, at least in most states. The day before the rollout, the Justice Department filed suit against the state of Illinois for passing a law that essentially blocks employers from enrolling in the program.

The Illinois law puts Homeland Security in the impossible position of enforcing a federal law that has been invalidated by the state. As Emilio Gonzalez, director of USCIS, observed during a briefing with reporters, “You either want us to enforce the law or you don’t.” Presumably that depends on whom you ask.