S. 4620: Mandatory E-Verify Act of 2026

Mandatory E-Verify Act of 2026

This bill permanently establishes the existing E-Verify system and mandates its use for all employers. E-Verify would maximize the prevention of identity theft and quickly establish employment authorization for employees, giving employers safe harbor if they use the system in good faith.

The bill phases in mandatory use for all new hires as follows:

• Employers of 10,000 or more: 6 months

• Employers of 500 or more: 9 months

• Employers of 20 or more: 1 year

• Employers of 1 or more: 1.5 years (18 months)

• Recruiters and referrers: 1 year

• Agricultural employers: 1.5 years (18 months)

• Critical infrastructure employers: 6 months

Employers must reverify those with limited work authorization no later than 3 business days after their prior work authorization expires. Employers must also verify previously hired employees who work in government, on military bases, or hold security clearances.

States are required to share driver's license photos with the Department of Homeland Security for E-Verify identity matching; failure to comply strips the state of federal Economic Development Assistance and Community Development Block Grants. The Social Security Administration and DHS are required to block numbers subject to unusual multiple-use (no-match) and to establish programs that allow individuals and parents to suspend misused numbers.

Penalties are steeply increased for knowingly hiring illegal aliens, with civil fines of up to $25,000 for repeated violations, criminal fines of up to $30,000 per unauthorized alien, imprisonment of up to 18 months, and potential debarment from federal contracts.

State laws are narrowly preempted only to the extent that state and local governments are prohibited from banning the use of E-Verify, preserving states' authority to enact their own mandatory E-Verify requirements.