BASIC Pilot
The Basic Pilot program is a section of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act which proposes a requirement that employers send work information of newly hired employees to the Social Security Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, via an internet database, in order to receive hiring authorization. The main purpose of the Basic Pilot is to reduce the amount of illegal hirings by companies.[1] In 1997, Basic Pilot was implemented in California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and New York.
The program has been proposed to be implemented on a nation level, but has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats. A study by the Government Accountability Office found in a report that the Basic Pilot program had significant shortcomings.[2]
The Basic Pilot program is currently used voluntarily in all fifty states.[3]
