Sens. Cruz, Britt Lead Effort to End Illegal Hiring and Protect U.S. Workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the Mandatory E-Verify Act of 2026. This legislation would permanently reauthorize the E-Verify program and require all employers in the United States to use it.

Sen. Cruz said, "The Biden administration enabled a record surge in illegal immigration at the expense of American workers. I am proud to lead this commonsense legislation with Senator Britt to mandate E-Verify, protect American jobs, and ensure businesses hire legal workers, not individuals who broke the law to enter this country illegally."

Sen. Britt said, "If you come to this country illegally, you shouldn't be here to begin with, and you shouldn't be working in the United States. This legislation builds on Republicans' historic success in securing our border after four years of disastrous, America Last policies under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, by eliminating the largest magnet for illegal immigration. We should enforce the law and ensure jobs go to Americans, not illegal aliens. E-Verify works, evidenced by the more than 43 million times it was used in 2025 alone. This is a common-sense bill that everyone should be able to get on board with, and I will work diligently to usher this legislation through the Senate and get it to President Trump's desk."

Read the bill text here.

BACKGROUND
E-Verify was originally launched by President Clinton, who, after signing the legislation, wrote that it "strengthens the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace." Despite bipartisan support for its establishment and proven effectiveness, the failure to mandate E-Verify led to historic levels of illegal immigration.

According to one recent analysis, 8.3 million illegal aliens were in the American workforce as of 2022. Another study estimates the number had grown to nearly 10.8 million as of early 2025. While the program is already mandatory across several states and federal agencies, no national standard exists.