A federal policy analyst who also testified at the committee hearing, Gloria Aitken of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, walked Utah lawmakers through the E-Verify process, which involves completion of a simple form that is submitted electronically. Aitken told the committee that 94 percent of all queries garner nearly instant responses. Currently, about 93,000 (of more than 7 million) employers across the country are signed up to access the system, but only about half use it on a regular basis.

Committee members wanted to know if the system was tied to federal law enforcement agencies (it is not) and whether employers who received final non-confirmation reports were required to report the information to immigration agents (they are not).

Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab registered his exasperation with this aspect of the process.

"That seems like a revolving door system," Noel said. "After a (non-confirmation) wouldn't (an employee) maybe just go to the next employer who doesn't use the system ... why doesn't the federal government follow up on it?"

Retiring Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, SB81's sponsor, echoed Noel's sentiment.

"It just seems borderline ridiculous, quite frankly, that the two agencies wouldn't cooperate," Hickman said.

Aitken explained that a mechanism is not in place, currently, to tip federal immigration enforcers to persons found to be of non-legal citizenship status via E-Verify, and he noted the highly politicized nature of connecting enforcement to employment verification.

"With this ... issue, you're really getting into immigration law," Aitken said. "Certain things must go through political channels ... and this will have to be resolved on Capitol Hill, not with me."

That Capitol Hill football has already been lofted back and forth, and the Department of Homeland Security recently decided to scale back mandates for federal use of the E-Verify system — it will now be required of federal employers and those who have contracts with the U.S. government in excess of $100,000. Business leaders lobbied heavily against the new federal requirements, which originally would have applied to all contracts greater than $3,000.

One of the biggest lobbying efforts was put forth by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose lawsuit fighting Oklahoma immigration statutes will likely not be reviewed by the federal appellate court until next spring.

The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce is remaining neutral on the case, though 13 chamber groups from other states have stepped up to formally support action. Salt Lake Chamber spokesman Wesley Smith said his group is keeping a close eye on the Oklahoma case.

"We're absolutely monitoring the litigation," Smith said. "The E-Verify system is very interesting, though there seem to be some logistical issues that need to be addressed."