Thread: Immigration audits are increasing against employers

Immigration audits are increasing against employers
Sixty-six probes done on local workplaces in fiscal 2010, up from just one in 2008
By Morgan Lee

Originally published October 9, 2010 at 10:10 p.m., updated October 10, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.

I-9 AUDIT PROCESS
• 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act requires employers to verify a person’s identification and work eligibility.

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement starts audit process by issuing a Notice of Inspection.

• ICE agents review the targeted company’s I-9 forms for compliance.

• For minor violations, employer is given 10 days to make corrections.

• Employer may receive a fine or be criminally prosecuted for uncorrected violations.

• Employers that receive a Notice of Intent to Fine can pay, negotiate a settlement or seek a hearing before a judge.

• Employers found to knowingly hire unauthorized workers may be barred from government benefits and contracts.
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Employers increasingly are bearing the brunt of enforcement against illegal immigrant labor in the workplace because the federal government has shifted from select, high-profile raids to more widespread audits aimed at ousting unauthorized workers.

Enforcement in San Diego County mirrors a national trend toward more scrutiny of employers’ I-9 forms, the universal tool for verifying permission to work in the United States.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, initiated 66 audits with local employers in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, reviewing 5,588 individual I-9s in the process. That was up from 44 audits in fiscal 2009 and just one audit in 2008.

A company can be fined up to $1,100 for each illegal employee, and knowingly violating verification laws can lead to criminal charges and forfeited assets.

Nationwide, the agency said it opened more than 2,200 cases in fiscal 2010, up from about half that number in fiscal 2008.

It may be too soon to gauge how most businesses are reacting — if at all.

A handful of employers, five in the San Diego region, have volunteered for an initiative where ICE provides guidance on how to self-police against unauthorized workers. National immigration law firms that cater to employers have reported rising concern about audits.

“The big question is at what point does it change employer behavior,â€

Increasing everywhere but California!!!

They must have received some pressure from the more conservative labor groups.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, initiated 66 audits with local employers in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, reviewing 5,588 individual I-9s in the process. That was up from 44 audits in fiscal 2009 and just one audit in 2008.

How many in 2007? Conveniently omitted. Wag that Dog Obama.

Dixie