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Abstract
In the first test of what could become a national model, U.S. authorities on Tuesday unveiled a long-awaited program that will allow more than 200 California employers to use a computer to verify whether new workers are legally authorized to work in the United States.
Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner said the pilot project is a major breakthrough toward developing broad, nationwide work-site verification - a longtime goal of authorities seeking to curtail the job opportunities that drive illicit immigration.
"Most illegal immigrants come here for jobs, so we have to look to the workplace," said Meissner, who outlined the pilot project at a Santa Ana bicycle factory, one of the more than 200 area employers who have signed up for the verification project.