Illegal Alien Employment Laws and Penalties:

By Michelle Miley, eHow Contributor updated: March 09, 2011

Although the issue of illegal immigration is a hotly debated one, federal law makes it illegal to hire anyone who is in the United States illegally. Illegal aliens found working in the United States may be arrested, detained and deported.

Those who hire them are also subject to punishment under federal law. Employers must understand how to confirm that they are hiring legal workers and be aware of the penalties for failure to do so.

Beyond Hiring:

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, anyone who knowingly hires an illegal alien commits a misdemeanor. But it is not just hiring an illegal alien that is illegal. In fact, while hiring an illegal alien is a misdemeanor, helping one to get a job is considered a felony.

Under Section 274 of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), it is a felony to help an illegal alien by "transporting, sheltering or assisting him or her to obtain employment." It is also illegal to refer an illegal alien to a possible employer.

Harboring:

To harbor an illegal alien can mean many things. A person has clearly harbored an illegal alien if she has provided shelter for him, but the INA expands the definition of harboring to include any act that helps an illegal alien remain in the United States.

Just as individuals can be guilty of harboring an illegal alien, so can an employer. An employer can be convicted of harboring an illegal alien if he has asked an individual to obtain false documentation, altered employment records or in any way interfered with an INS inspection. Hiring 10 or more illegal aliens within a 12 month time period is also considered harboring.

Penalties:

The penalties involving the employment of illegal aliens can vary. According to Minnesota Lawyers, employers who hire illegal aliens can be assessed a fine of $250 to $2,000 for every illegal alien employed. These fines can be increased up to $5,000 per worker if the employer has previously been cited for hiring illegal aliens and up to $10,000 per worker if the employer hired the illegal aliens while under a cease and desist order.

Employers with a pattern of hiring illegal aliens can be forced to pay additional fines and serve up to six months in prison. Minnesotans for Sustainability reports that fines and up to five years in prison await those convicted of felony harboring and up to 20 years in prison for smuggling or harboring illegal aliens if the act results in bodily harm or risks a life. Harboring that results in a death can be punished by life in prison.

Compliance:

To comply with federal immigration laws, employers are required to check the work status of every employee they hire. To do so, the employer must complete and retain a Form I-9.


This form is called the "Employment Eligibility Verification" and allows employers to easily asses an applicant's legal ability to work in the United States. On the form, acceptable forms of identification and work eligibility documents are listed in three columns.

Potential employees must be able to produce either one document from Column A or one document from Column B and one document from Column C.

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