Hood River News
Letters to the Editor for November 9, 2011
County should use E-verify
November 16, 2011
County: Use E-Verify
Dear Hood River County Commissioners Rivers, Joplin, Meyer, Benton, and Perkins:
I ask the commissioners require that Hood River County government use the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify (DHS) system.
The importance of Oregon employers using U.S. DHS E-Verify system really becomes apparent when looking at Oregon’s unemployment rate, in September 2011 being at 9.6 percent; 178,174 Oregonians were unemployed. The September unemployment numbers for Oregonians in Hood River County were at 7.6 percent; 1,026 of the county’s residents were unemployed.
Unemployed Oregonians who are U.S. citizens or foreign citizens legally present with authorization to work in the country should not have to compete for jobs with a purported 97,000 undocumented foreign national workers illegally in the state.
If all Oregon government and business entities not currently using U.S. DHS E-Verify system were required to use it, Oregon’s unemployment rate would drop dramatically because all new jobs created in the state would go to U.S. citizens or those legally present to work in the country.
Currently more than 2,000 Oregon businesses and government entities are successfully using the 98.6-percent-accurate U.S. DHS E-Verify system. Ten of 36 Oregon county governments are now using the E-Verify system (Deschutes, Harney, Jefferson, Lane, Lincoln, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook and Washington counties). At least 10 Hood River County businesses presently use the E-Verify system.
I ask that the commissioners require Hood River County government to use the U.S. DHS E-Verify system so if a job opening becomes available to work for the county a qualified U.S. citizen or foreign citizen legally present with authorization to work in the country can be first in line for that job.
David Olen Cross
Salem
http://www.hoodrivernews.com/ns/letters/8265/letters-to-the-editor-for-november-9-2011
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