An effort to use the $787 billion stimulus package to mandate that employers use the E-Verify computer database system to vet the immigration status of workers has fallen by the wayside. The provision, which was stripped from the bill approved by Congress, would have forced employers who get federal stimulus money to first verify the employment status of their workers using the federal E-Verify program.

The move was a victory for those who argued the E-Verify requirement was unnecessary and would seriously delay numerous projects, especially "shovel-ready" ones in the construction sector. But it was a blow to those who felt the provision would prevent illegal immigrants from getting stimulus jobs paid by taxpayer dollars.

The E-Verify system is run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. It is a free Internet-based employment eligibility verification system. Only about 100,000 employers out of more than 7 million in the United States are currently signed up for the program.
 
For more on E-Verify:
- check out this Computerworld.com article

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