E-Verify Would Stop Hyundai Mess Before It Started

The immigration enforcement action at Georgia's Hyundai Motor plant demonstrates how many things go wrong when the federal government ignores its own immigration laws for nearly 40 years. Law enforcement officers arrested approximately 475 illegal aliens, roughly 300 of them South Koreans, on September 4 at an electric vehicle battery factory under construction near Savannah, Georgia. The venture is a joint project between Hyundai and fellow South Korean firm LG Energy Solution. At $7.6 billion, the undertaking represents the largest manufacturing project in Georgia's history.

Steven Schrank, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for Alabama and Georgia, said the raid marks the most significant single-site enforcement operation in HSI history, even though numerous other agencies—including Georgia State Patrol, the FBI, DEA, and ATF—were also involved. During his press conference, Schrank explained that multiple sources had contacted his office to report that illegal immigrants were working inside the factory. A weeks-long investigation led to a judicial warrant that allowed federal agents to proceed. Several immigration violations resulted in the arrests: illegal border crossings, unauthorized employment by visa waiver program participants, visa overstays, and the use of subcontractors to deflect hiring responsibility. Hyundai introduced a new wrinkle into the illegal hiring process—subcontractors who worked for other subcontractors.

Solutions to most of these immigration violations are either already codified in law or have been proposed to Congress, where they died quietly.

Illegal Entry has been commonplace under both Republican and Democratic administrations since President Ronald Reagan's Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Although illegal immigration's harmful effects on schools, hospitals, population growth, and crime became more visible and consequential over the years, one administration after another turned a blind eye to significant illegal immigration until President Joe Biden opened the gates to millions. During the four decades between Reagan and Biden, Congress consistently promised amnesty for illegal aliens. Amnesty serves as a pull factor that encourages more illegal immigration. After Reagan signed his 1986 legislation into law, the illegal alien population dropped to nearly zero since most unlawfully present immigrants chose to become lawful permanent residents. Ten years later, when President Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act, analysts estimated the illegal population had soared to approximately 11 million.

The Visa Waiver Program that the Koreans exploited allows citizens from pre-approved countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa. To participate, travelers must obtain valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization approval before their trip. As the Hyundai raid demonstrated, the VWP represents another immigration vulnerability. Qatar is the latest country added to the VWP, bringing the total number of eligible nations to 41. The State Department cannot determine whether Qatar is friend, foe, or both. Regardless, Qatar's citizens can enter and blend into the general population irrespective of their intentions.

Visa Overstays occurred when Korean workers improperly used B-1 or B-2 visas. The B-1 allows paid employment only under extremely limited circumstances, while the B-2 temporarily admits holders to the U.S. for tourism, family visits, or medical emergencies. Violating these visa conditions means the Koreans committed visa fraud.

The Subcontracting Process circumvents laws that prohibit hiring illegal aliens. Hyundai and other employers dependent on cheap labor direct job applicants to subcontracting staffing agenciesa, then hire them through these intermediary agencies. Employers believe they are shielded from immigration law because they have master service agreements stating that verifying immigration status is not their responsibility. Using subcontractors is commonplace in industries like manufacturing and trucking that depend on undocumented labor. Both employers and subcontractors, each trying to avoid criminal responsibility, play a "don't blame me" game.

However, E-Verify serves as a stronger deterrent to undocumented immigrant employment than any other program. This Internet-based system compares information entered by employers from employees' Form I-9 documents to records available to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration, confirming employment eligibility. Available since 1996, E-Verify would have quickly determined that the 450 Koreans employed at Hyundai were not legally authorized to work in the U.S. Assuming Hyundai had acted responsibly and legally, the Koreans would never have been hired. Yet E-Verify's effectiveness aside, Congress has refused to legislatively mandate the program, thus leaving American workers to suffer the consequences. Even more inexcusable, despite its benefits, the House has never brought E-Verify to the floor for a full vote.

Notwithstanding his fervent America First advocacy, President Trump has never championed E-Verify. Had he done so, thousands of U.S. jobs at Hyundai would have gone to Americans instead of illegally present Koreans.

Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org