Groups that get grant money from the Texas Comptroller's office will have to check every new hire through the federal E-Verify system under rules Comptroller Don Huffines announced Thursday, Nov. 12, less than two weeks after he lost the office to Democrat Sarah Eckhardt.
Under the new terms, any entity receiving a state grant through the agency must certify that it will:
- run applicable employees through E-Verify, the Department of Homeland Security's online check of work eligibility;
- not knowingly employ workers who are not authorized to work in the United States;
- follow federal immigration law for the full length of the grant; and
- tell the comptroller's office right away if it finds a violation involving work eligibility or immigration status.
The certifications will be written into future grant solicitations and agreements, along with language letting the agency end a grant immediately if a recipient breaks them, according to the comptroller's announcement. It did not say how the rules would apply to grants already awarded.
Huffines said a review of his own agency, which he began in August, found that no earlier comptroller had made sure contractors and grant recipients followed state and federal immigration law. "If you want state funding, you will verify every hire and follow federal immigration law," he said in the release, adding that the change would help legal workers get fair wages.
The rules are part of what Huffines calls his Taxpayer First Project, and his office said more standard contract and grant terms will be announced in the coming weeks. Last month he also barred comptroller grants for license plate reader cameras and for businesses that require COVID-19 vaccination records.
