The Obama administration has reaffirmed its commitment to E-Verify, the federal government’s electronic employment verification system, by expanding the program’s “Self Check” feature.

The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently expanded Self Check throughout the country, and the Obama administration in its fiscal year 2013 budget request included funds to support the expansion. 

The Self Check program allows job seekers to check their own employment eligibility status before seeking employment. The program is available in both English and Spanish.

“We are pleased to complete, ahead of schedule, our expansion of this important tool for employees,” USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Feb. 9 statement. “Since our initial launch in March, approximately 67,000 people have used Self Check and we anticipate that participation will dramatically increase with service now available to individuals across the country.”

Meanwhile, the Obama administration Feb. 13 released its FY 2013 budget request that includes $111.9 million for E-Verify, a 9.3 percent increase over the $102.4 million requested for FY 2012. The boost is intended to support the Self Check program, the Department of Homeland Security said. 

In Other Developments:

• Immigrants will play “increasingly important roles within the U.S. economy as workers and taxpayers,” as baby boomers retire, according to a report released by the Immigration Policy Center.

In 2011, the first of the baby boomers--Americans born between 1946 and 1964--turned 65 years old. Baby boomer retirements will create a demand for younger workers, and “more and more of these workers and taxpayers will be immigrants and the children of immigrants,” the report found.

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement appointed Andrew Lorenzen-Strait as the agency’s first public advocate. Lorenzen-Strait will serve as a point of contact for individuals, including those in immigration proceedings, non-governmental organizations, and other community and advocacy groups, ICE said. 

"As our first Public Advocate, Andrew Lorenzen-Strait will work to expand and enhance our dialogue with the stakeholder community," ICE Director John Morton said. "We want the public to know that they have a representative at this agency whose sole duty is to ensure their voice is heard and their interests are recognized.”