S. 1123 (119th)Bill Overview

College Employment Accountability Act

Education|Education
Sponsor
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
Mar 25, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief

The bill (College Employment Accountability Act) amends the Higher Education Act to bar any institution of higher education from receiving federal student or institutional aid if the institution is found to violate INA section 274A (employment of unauthorized aliens).

It requires institutions to participate in the federal E-Verify employment-authorization program to be eligible for Title IV programs.

The Department of Homeland Security must monitor E-Verify participation every six months and notify the Secretary of Education within 10 days if an institution is nonparticipating or found in violation of INA 274A.

Passage25/100

High controversy, substantial fiscal and regulatory effects, and few compromise features reduce enactment prospects absent major bargaining.

CredibilityPartially aligned

Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill clearly establishes a substantive change by conditioning Title IV eligibility on compliance with INA section 274A and mandatory E-Verify participation, and it assigns basic monitoring/notification responsibilities to DHS. However, it provides limited operational detail about enforcement, procedural safeguards, definitions, and funding.

Contention70/100

Progressives focus on civil-rights and student-harm risks

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Who this appears to help vs burden50% / 50%
Federal agencies · WorkersStudents · Local governments
Likely helped
  • Federal agenciesEncourages institutional compliance with federal immigration employment laws by tying compliance to Title IV eligibilit…
  • WorkersProtects taxpayer-funded student aid by denying funds to institutions employing unauthorized workers.
  • Targeted stakeholdersCreates a more level competitive environment for institutions that already follow employment verification rules.
Likely burdened
  • StudentsRisks sudden loss of Title IV funds for institutions over inadvertent or contested violations, harming students.
  • Targeted stakeholdersImposes additional administrative and compliance costs to implement and maintain E-Verify across campuses.
  • Local governmentsMay cause job losses for campus employees lacking authorization, disrupting services and local employment.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Progressives focus on civil-rights and student-harm risks
Progressive15%

Skeptical and likely opposed.

They will view mandatory E-Verify and withholding Title IV funds as risking discriminatory hiring, chilling campus employment for immigrant students and staff, and harming low-income students.

They will also raise concerns about due process and accuracy of E-Verify.

Likely resistant
Centrist55%

Mixed; supportive of enforcing employment law but concerned about implementation and unintended harms.

They will weigh public accountability against administrative burdens and risk to students and research activities.

They will seek safeguards, phased implementation, and clarity on enforcement.

Split reaction
Conservative85%

Generally supportive.

They will welcome mandatory E-Verify and tying federal student aid to compliance with immigration employment law as effective enforcement.

They will emphasize accountability and reducing incentives to employ unauthorized workers.

Leans supportive
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood25/100

High controversy, substantial fiscal and regulatory effects, and few compromise features reduce enactment prospects absent major bargaining.

Scope and complexity
52%
Scopemoderate
24%
Complexitylow
Why this could stall
  • No cost estimate or CBO score provided
  • Practical enforcement capacity at DHS and timing
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Progressives focus on civil-rights and student-harm risks

High controversy, substantial fiscal and regulatory effects, and few compromise features reduce enactment prospects absent major bargaining.

Unlocked analysis

Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill clearly establishes a substantive change by conditioning Title IV eligibility on compliance with INA section 274A and mandatory E-Verify participation, and it assigns…

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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