Washington • Sen. Mitt Romney on Wednesday introduced legislation to permanently renew a verification system that businesses can use to check the legal work status of a new hire.

The E-Verify program, which Congress has repeatedly renewed, expires at the end of September.

Romney, a Utah Republican, noted 144,000 immigrants were arrested last month on the U.S.-Mexican border, the highest in more than 13 years. May 2018 saw about 52,000 migrants apprehended.

“Congress needs to act now to address our illegal immigration crisis by closing legal loopholes and removing the magnets — like illegal employment — that drive illegal immigration,” Romney said. “My home state of Utah has already taken a step to reduce illegal employment by requiring employers to use E-Verify. I urge my colleagues to take action on this important legislation to make E-Verify permanent, and continue working on long-term fixes to secure our border, update our asylum and trafficking laws, and institute mandatory E-Verify nationwide.”

E-Verify, run by the Department of Homeland Security, allows employers to check a new hire's legal status and verify the person's identity. It checks DHS records and that of the Social Security Administration.