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AGAO
Accountability * Integrity * Reliability
United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548
July 11, 2006
The Honorable Jim McCrery
Chairman
Subcommittee on Social Security
Committee on Ways and Means
House of Representatives
The Honorable Jim Ramstad
Chairman
Subcommittee on Oversight
Committee on Ways and Means
House of Representatives
Subject: Immigration Enforcement: Benefits and Limitations to Using Earnings Data to
Identify Unauthorized Work
To lawfully work in the United States, individuals must provide identification and evidence of
work authorization to their employers. Individuals who are not U.S. citizens must have
authorization to work from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Yet individuals
without these required authorizations can gain employment using fraudulent documents
containing fictitious information or information that belongs to someone else or by being
hired by an employer who does not follow the law. In prior GAO work on these issues, we
have reported that Social Security Administration (SSA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
data can be useful for identity and employment eligibility verification as well as to facilitate
more effective worksite enforcement. However, the use of these data has drawbacks since
they contain some erroneous information and information about hundreds of thousands or
even millions of U.S. citizens and work-authorized aliens. Because the confidentiality of tax
data is considered crucial to voluntary taxpayer compliance, IRS is restricted under Section
6103 of the Internal Revenue Code from sharing taxpayer information with third parties
except in very limited circumstances. Currently, IRS is not authorized to share taxpayers'
information for worksite enforcement efforts. However, SSA is authorized to provide DHS a
specific data file that contains information compiled from employer earnings reports and SSA
data.
The House and the Senate are considering legislation to reform immigration laws and
strengthen enforcement. As part of these deliberations, there are proposals to share earnings
data with DHS for worksite enforcement. To better understand how such data could be used,
the Subcommittees on Social Security and on Oversight of the House Ways and Means
Committee requested that we assess DHS's use of the data it already receives from SSA and
determine what changes or improvements could be made to effectively use earnings data for
enforcement.GAO-06-814R DHS Use of Earnings Data
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Immigration Enforcement: Benefits and Limitations to Using Earnings Data to Identify Unauthorized Work, text, July 11, 2006; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc299094/m1/1/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.