Thread: Companies pay millions for hiring illegal immigrants

Companies pay millions for hiring illegal immigrants

Chron.com
By Susan Carroll

When U.S. immigration agents scoured the hiring paperwork on file at Advanced Containment System Inc. last year, they found identification cards supposedly issued by the "Texas Department of Safety."

Words including "identification" and "department" were misspelled. One ID card even had the words "novelty item" typed on the back.

Some 44 percent of the company's Houston workforce from 2005 to 2009 was in the country illegally and was paid an estimated $2 million during that time, the audit showed.

On Tuesday, U.S. immigration officials and federal prosecutors announced they had reached a $2 million settlement with ACSI in exchange for avoiding criminal prosecution.

A second Houston company, Champion Window, also has agreed to forfeit $2 million to the government after an audit last year found 269 of its 451 workers - roughly 60 percent of its workforce - lacked legal status.

"Each company is forfeiting a substantial amount of money," said Robert Rutt, special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations in Houston. "It sends a message that these actions - while not criminally prosecuted - still have consequences."

The deals are part of the Obama administration's strategy to target employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, rather than staging high-profile workplace raids. In the 2010 fiscal year, U.S. immigration officials' worksite probes resulted in a record $36.6 million in judicial fines, forfeitures and restitutions.

Gordon Quan, a Houston immigration attorney whose firm specializes in advising businesses on compliance with the law, said many companies have started taking a harder look at their hiring paperwork.

"There is a lot of concern out there," Quan said. "I think for a long time, people thought it was no big deal, the government wasn't checking these things. Now I see more and more personnel people taking this very seriously."

The investigation into ACSI dates to 2008, when a former employee complained that he was being pressured to hire illegal immigrants. The company, which manufactures emergency decontamination equipment used by the U.S. military, ran its workers through the government's E-Verify program in November 2009 and fired suspected illegal immigrants on its payrolls, records show.

Auditors who examined the company's I-9 employment paperwork in February 2011 found "egregiously suspect" identification documents on file for many workers.

ACSI did not respond for comment Tuesday.

Authorities said Champion managers falsely attested on I-9 forms that identification used by new hires appeared to be "genuine." After an audit last year found the bulk of its workers were illegal, the company fired them, federal officials said.
Champion officials said last fall that the firings, and the difficulty finding experienced workers, contributed to its decision to close the manufacturing portion of its Houston plant in December.

In May, the government also audited Champion's parent company, Atrium Companies, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of windows and patio doors.

The audit of Atrium's other subsidiaries found about 8 percent of the total 3,382 employees were undocumented.
"We are pleased that this investigation has been fully resolved to the government's satisfaction and each employee now holds proper work authorizations," said

I.C.E. News Release

January 24, 2012
Houston, TX

2 companies admit to hiring illegal aliens, each forfeit $2 million

HOUSTON — Atrium Companies, the owner of Houston-based Champion Window, and Advanced Containment Systems Inc. (ACSI), have agreed to adhere to revised immigration compliance programs and to each pay $2 million as forfeited funds to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The announcement was made Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, along with Robert Rutt, special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston. For its part, the United States has agreed not to criminally prosecute the company.

"These non-prosecution agreements require each company to continue their substantial remedial measures to address past immigration violations, the payment of a significant penalty and the company's continued cooperation in an ongoing criminal investigation, while also taking into consideration the collateral consequences that a criminal prosecution would have on the company's ongoing business concerns," said Magidson.

"These forfeitures represent companies who failed to comply with our nation's labor laws," said Rutt. "Employers who knowingly hire an illegal workforce contribute to illegal immigration and decrease lawful employment opportunities across the nation."

ACSI is a company located in South Houston that designs and manufactures custom emergency response vehicles and trailers. ACSI offers emergency decontamination systems, restroom and shower trailers, surge systems, mobile command centers, abatement equipment, mobile laboratory facilities and interchangeable pods.

Atrium Companies is the largest manufacturer and distributor of residential vinyl and aluminum windows and patio doors in the United States with a total workforce around 3,700 employees. The company operates 13 subsidiaries located in seven different states and Canada.

Both companies received multiple notices from the Social Security Administration (SSA) known as "no-match letters," which indicated employee names and Social Security numbers did not match SSA records. The companies failed to take corrective measures, resulting in the continued employment of the undocumented aliens. For ACSI, this resulted in about $2 million in wages paid to these undocumented aliens between 2005 and 2009. Champion derived at least $2 million in revenue from the sales of its products manufactured and services provided with the use of its predominantly illegal workforce from 2006 through 2010.

In February 2011, ICE HSI completed an I-9 (employment eligibility verification forms) audit on ACSI. The audit revealed that from 2005 to 2009 about 44 percent of the workforce at the ACSI facility was undocumented, many employed with numerous "egregiously suspect" identification documents, including misspellings of agency names and/or containing the words "novelty item." In November 2009, ACSI ran all of their employees' names through E-Verify to determine their employment eligibility, and terminated those determined to be illegal aliens unauthorized to work in the U.S.

Similarly, Champion had engaged in a pattern and practice of hiring undocumented workers for years prior to its acquisition by Atrium Companies in June 2006. Champion managers ignored the requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by falsely attesting on I-9 forms that work authorization documents presented by new hires appeared genuine. An audit conducted by HSI in early 2011 revealed that about 269 of Champion's 451-person workforce consisted of undocumented aliens. At the request of the government, all of the undocumented aliens were terminated from Champion by the end of April 2011.

The ICE HSI investigation also revealed that, since acquiring Champion, management at Atrium had become aware of the possibility of large numbers of undocumented aliens being employed at Champion's Houston factory. A follow-up audit conducted by ICE HSI of Atrium Companies' remaining 12 subsidiaries in May 2011 revealed that about 8.3 percent of the parent company's 3,382 employees (excluding Champion employees) were undocumented aliens. All of these workers were terminated within a matter of weeks.

Since December 2010, Atrium Companies has taken substantial remedial measures to ensure compliance with immigration law in its hiring process, including revising its immigration compliance procedures to include new policies concerning the proper completion, retention and auditing of I-9 forms and for responding to SSA no match letters. Under the terms of the non-prosecution agreement, Atrium Continues must also hire a full-time chief compliance officer and must also continue to consult with immigration counsel in order to ensure the legality of its workforce.

The cases against ACSI and Champion were handled by Assistant U. S. Attorneys Kebharu H. Smith and David Searle, Southern District of Texas.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423 or complete our tip form.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security

2 companies admit to hiring illegal aliens, each forfeit $2 million

bizjournals.com
Houston Business Journal
Date: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 8:16am CST


Atrium Companies the owner of Houston-based Champion Window and Advanced Containment Systems Inc., have agreed to adhere to revised immigration compliance programs and to each pay $2 million as forfeited funds to the Department of Homeland Security.


U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson and Robert Rutt, special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Houston made the announcement Jan. 24, according to a statement.


ACSI is located in South Houston that designs and manufactures custom emergency response vehicles and trailers. It also offers emergency decontamination systems, restroom and shower trailers, surge systems, mobile command centers, abatement equipment and mobile laboratory facilities.


Atrium Companies is a manufacturer and distributor of residential vinyl and aluminum windows and patio doors.


Both received multiple notices from the Social Security Administration, which indicated that employee names and Social Security numbers did not match SSA records.

Houston firms pay stiff fines for hiring illegals - Houston Business Journal

More companies fined.

http://www.alipac.us/f12/company-win...-i-c-e-249311/