Food delivery companies are pushing back against claims by Republican senators that they are allowing illegal immigrant drivers to profit off their business models and off legal citizens.
On Wednesday, Senators Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Mike Braun (Indiana) and Ted Budd (North Carolina) sent letters to DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats as part of a probe demanding to know whether migrants are "gaming the system" and making profits off the companies while allegedly being in the country illegally.
"The danger to Americans—and specifically consumers using your services—is real," the trio wrote in a letter to each company's CEO. "These illegal immigrants are delivering food directly to consumers' doors without ever having undergone a background check and often without even using their real names.
"Deliveries routinely occur late into the night, compounding the dangerous situation, and—if the unimaginable happened—there would be little to no way to track the immigrant or bring them to justice. When American consumers have no way of knowing who is showing up at their doors, and there is no accountability process in place, it creates safety risks, especially for women and the elderly."
Newsweek reached out to all three senators via email for comment.
The senators cite a September 2023 report in the New York Post in which an Uber Eats worker claimed there was a rise in unvetted drivers affiliated with newly arrived migrants. The risk is related to using false information to circumvent background checks and gain access to customers' home addresses.
But the companies told Newsweek that the claims brought forward by the lawmakers don't jive with their protocols.
"To help ensure that Dashers are who they say they are and prevent access by individuals looking to abuse our platform, we've built a robust, multi-layered identity verification and safety screening process for anyone who wants to deliver through our platform," a DoorDash spokesperson told Newsweek via email on Friday.
"To be clear: there is no place on the DoorDash platform for those that can't or won't verify their identity. Every Dasher is required to have their own verified account."
The company also said that account sharing, or when individuals gain unauthorized access to or share Dasher accounts, is strictly prohibited and is in violation of the company's terms of service—resulting in the individuals being deactivated from the platform if caught.
Prior to being allowed to make deliveries on the company's behalf, every U.S. Dasher undergoes what it described as "multi-layered, ongoing verification," including verification of identity in addition to undergoing additional criminal and motor vehicle (if applicable) background checks.
The same protocols exist at Grubhub, a spokesperson told Newsweek via email on Friday.
Verification includes inputting a valid name and email address, as well as uploading an eligible ID and prompting the individual to take a photo with their phone that matches the uploaded ID. Drivers of vehicles and mopeds must upload images of the front and back of their driver's licenses.
Background checks include information such as a legal name, address and Social Security number.
"Account sharing is completely unacceptable on Grubhub and will result in immediate termination," a Grubhub spokesperson said. "Delivery partners on our platform must pass an extensive background check and agree to the Grubhub Delivery Partner Terms of Use, which require maintaining the confidentiality and security of their account at all times.
"If we find anyone misrepresenting their identity or granting unauthorized access to an account, they'll be removed from the platform."
Newsweek also asked each company if they had any concerns about what the allegations could mean for their businesses, and if such concerns have been in any way relayed to the senators in question. No responses were received.
"All couriers who deliver with Uber are required to hold a valid right to work in the U.S., pass a criminal background check, and be over the age of 18," an Uber Eats spokesperson told Newsweek via email. "If a courier is found to be sharing their account or using a fraudulent account, we remove their access to our platform, no exceptions.
"We appreciate the senators' concerns and plan to respond to their letter with more information on our strict policies and processes in place to help prevent and address account sharing."
The senators have requested for the companies to respond to the following questions by May 6:
- What steps are you taking to increase security on your application and ensure that account holders are the only individuals delivering food through your services?
- What are the consequences for an account holder who sells access to their account?
- How many account holders have you suspended for selling access to their account?
- Have you received any reports from consumers regarding this growing problem? If so, how many?
Update 4/26/24, 3:40 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Uber Eats.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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