We the undersigned are sure that you are very concerned about the countless number of workers in our state who are unemployed because of the economic downturn. We hope that the very fact that hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens have jobs to which they are not entitled also concerns you.

The E-Verify system, a federal data base of names, ages, and social security numbers, enables employers to make sure that the workers they hire are American citizens or legal residents. E-Verify has a 99.7% accuracy rate, which explains why many states have mandated its use.

On May 26, 2011, the US Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of an Arizona law which mandated the use of E-Verify by employers in that state. This opens the door to adoption of laws mandating use of E-Verify around the country. And, as more and more states adopt these laws, illegal immigrants who do not return to their home countries will end up coming to states which do not have these laws in place. If New Jersey does not pass a law mandating E-Verify by employers then we may find even more illegal immigrants coming to our state. This will, in turn, put an even greater burden on our educational and healthcare systems as well as cause even more American citizens and legal residents to lose jobs due to unfair competition from illegal immigrants.

Senators Steven Oroho (R-24), Jeff Van Drew (D-1), and Joseph Pennacchio (R-26) have sponsored Senate Bill S2733 which would mandate use of E-Verify by New Jersey employers. The bill has been languishing in the Senate Labor Committee chaired by Senator Fred Madden.

We urge you to use your influence, as Senate President, to convince Chairman Madden to post S2733 so that it can start to move forward in the legislative process. The citizens and legal residents of our state should not have to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs, especially in a recession.