S-1123-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Sponsored by Jim Banks (R-IN)
What it does
This bill would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require all colleges and universities that participate in federal Title IV student aid programs to enroll in the federal E-Verify employment eligibility system. It would also make any institution found to have knowingly hired unauthorized immigrants — in violation of existing federal immigration law (8 U.S.C. 1324a) — ineligible to receive federal student assistance or institutional aid. The Department of Homeland Security would be required to monitor E-Verify participation every six months and notify the Department of Education within 10 days of any violation.
Who benefits
U.S. citizens and authorized workers who compete for jobs at colleges and universities, who may face less competition from unauthorized workers. Employers and workers in other sectors that already use E-Verify, who would see a more level compliance playing field. Advocates for stricter immigration enforcement who seek broader E-Verify adoption. Students at institutions that are already compliant, who would face no disruption. Taxpayers who support tying federal funding to immigration law compliance.
Who is hurt
Colleges and universities — particularly smaller or under-resourced institutions — that would bear administrative costs of enrolling in and maintaining E-Verify compliance. Students enrolled at non-compliant institutions who could lose access to Pell Grants, federal loans, and other Title IV aid if their school is found in violation, potentially mid-enrollment. Unauthorized immigrant workers currently employed at colleges who would lose those jobs. Institutions in states where E-Verify is not currently mandated, which would face a new federal compliance requirement. Research universities that rely on a global workforce and may face disruption from E-Verify's known error rates for foreign-born workers with complex immigration statuses.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that federal law already prohibits employers from knowingly hiring unauthorized immigrants, and that colleges receiving billions in taxpayer-funded student aid should be held to the same standard as other federal contractors, many of whom are already required to use E-Verify. They contend that E-Verify is a straightforward, existing federal tool — used by over 1 million employers — that makes compliance with existing law verifiable, and that conditioning federal aid on that compliance is a reasonable use of Congress's spending power under South Dakota v. Dole (1987).
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the bill's penalty — stripping an entire institution of all federal student aid — is disproportionate and would harm hundreds of thousands of students who bear no responsibility for their school's employment practices, potentially forcing them to drop out or transfer mid-year. They also contend that E-Verify has a documented error rate that disproportionately affects foreign-born workers with complex legal statuses, including visa holders and naturalized citizens, meaning compliant institutions could still face false-positive violations that trigger catastrophic funding loss.
Constitutional context
The Spending Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 1) gives Congress broad authority to attach conditions to federal education funding, subject to the five-part test in South Dakota v. Dole (1987), which requires conditions to be unambiguous, related to the federal interest, and not coercive. The total loss of all Title IV funding — which can represent the majority of an institution's revenue — could raise a coercion argument similar to the Medicaid expansion issue in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012), though that case arose in a different context and is not listed among the directly applicable precedents here.
Checks and balances
The Executive Branch (DHS and the Department of Education) gains enforcement authority to monitor institutions and trigger funding loss; Congress sets the conditions by statute, and affected institutions could challenge determinations in federal court.
Historical precedent
Federal contractors have been required to use E-Verify since a 2009 executive order; this bill would extend a similar requirement to higher education institutions receiving Title IV funds, a sector not previously subject to mandatory E-Verify participation.