Denver City Council passes E-Verify measure

Denver City Council has approved a measure that will now require contractors on city construction projects check the immigration status of their employees using the E-Verify employment-eligibility program.

The program works by checking information collected by an employer against data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

Program opponents say that E-Verify is not always accurate and could lead to people who are in the country legally being mistaken for illegal workers. The Council added an appeals process to the measure before passing it.

The ordinance passed by a 9 to 4 vote and will go into effect September 1st.