Republican senators are advancing a bill that would require every Iowa business — even businesses with just one employee — to use the federal E-verify system to check the citizenship status of prospective workers. Businesses caught “knowingly” employing an “unauthorized alien” would lose any license or permit to operate in the state.

Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, says it’s time for states to act because the federal government isn’t.

The Iowa Chamber Alliance, representing the 16 largest chambers of commerce and economic development groups in Iowa, opposes the bill. John Stineman, the group’s executive director, says the E-Verify system is “wildly inaccurate.”

The Iowa Association of Business and Industry raised concerns the bill might prompt a statewide hiring freeze if businesses can’t check the E-Verify system because of another federal government shutdown.