Thread: SC CO's Business Auditing Program Curbs Illegal Employment

SC County’s Innovative Business Auditing Program Curbs Illegal Employment
By Jessica Vaughan, January 10, 2009

Beaufort County has made great strides in creating a lawful employment environment in the South Carolina Low Country by implementing a creative and pioneering auditing program to help local businesses achieve compliance with immigration laws while exposing problems with fraudulent documents that enable illegal workers to get jobs. The effectiveness of this effort is further enhanced by strong state laws on illegal hiring and the county’s participation in the 287(g) program. These enable local law enforcement agencies to prosecute violators and have illegal workers removed. Local officials report signs that the illegal alien population in Beaufort County has been noticeably reduced.

The ordinance establishing the business license audit program was enacted by the county council, with the support of senior county managers, in response to concerns in the community about rampant growth and development in the region that was accomplished at least in part by the widespread hiring of illegal workers in the construction, landscaping and hospitality industries. Local business owners complained to county officials about losing opportunities to companies who undercut them with low labor costs made possible by hiring illegal aliens.

The county leaders researched their options and settled on an innovative approach. All county businesses (except for those that operate only in certain incorporated cities) needed to be licensed annually and pay a fee scaled according to their revenue. The new ordinance added the requirement that businesses comply with federal hiring laws by verifying the immigration status of their employees through the long-established I-9 process. In addition, the county would conduct random audits to ensure that businesses had complied and that they were reporting their revenues accurately. The county hired a local company, Advance Point Global, that specialized in background checks and identification issues, to conduct the audits. The goal is to inspect all of the 4,000+ county businesses within four years. The funding for the audits comes from the license fees, which had recently been raised to align with other jurisdictions in the area.

Since April, when the audits began, more than 7,000 I-9 forms at 894 companies have been inspected. The results have surprised everyone. In the first four months, 27% of the I-9s inspected were judged by the auditor as non-compliant. In July, Advance Point Global consulted with ICE, gave its auditors additional training, and aligned its criteria with federal standards. Over the period August-December, the auditors found that an astonishing 67% of the I-9s inspected were non-compliant. Some of the deficiencies were considered relatively minor, but others involved missing or misplaced information or unacceptable documentation of identity and/or work authorization.

Not all of these violations would necessarily result in federal immigration charges of knowingly hiring illegal workers if discovered by ICE. In some cases the employers simply were not well informed about the requirements. But they could be paperwork violations that might result in fines in the event of an official ICE audit. So this is not just another layer of regulation -- the county is truly providing a service to its employers by educating them on the rules and preemptively nudging them into compliance before they might come under federal scrutiny.
The ordinance does provide for sanctions (potential loss of license) if employers fail to correct themselves after an audit. But County Administrator Gary Kubic told me that they have not had to impose any sanctions, because businesses are cooperating so far. He has observed what he describes as a “braking effectâ€

Since April, when the audits began, more than 7,000 I-9 forms at 894 companies have been inspected. The results have surprised everyone. In the first four months, 27% of the I-9s inspected were judged by the auditor as non-compliant. In July, Advance Point Global consulted with ICE, gave its auditors additional training, and aligned its criteria with federal standards. Over the period August-December, the auditors found that an astonishing 67% of the I-9s inspected were non-compliant. Some of the deficiencies were considered relatively minor, but others involved missing or misplaced information or unacceptable documentation of identity and/or work authorization.

Not all of these violations would necessarily result in federal immigration charges of knowingly hiring illegal workers if discovered by ICE. In some cases the employers simply were not well informed about the requirements. But they could be paperwork violations that might result in fines in the event of an official ICE audit. So this is not just another layer of regulation -- the county is truly providing a service to its employers by educating them on the rules and preemptively nudging them into compliance before they might come under federal scrutiny.

Since 1986 this has been the policy of business to hire illegal immigrants.

This article should be sent to every government official.

County officials interviewed report that the population of illegal aliens in Beaufort County has declined noticeably since the auditing and 287(g) programs began. Perhaps the economy also has played a role, but they have little doubt that these initiatives have provided some incentive for illegal aliens to leave the area. They observe fewer construction and day labor crews in the area, restaurants catering mainly to recent immigrants have largely shut down, and certain apartment complexes have higher vacancy rates than before the initiative began. They believe that families headed by illegal aliens left first, while younger single male illegal workers have been more persistent in continuing to seek employment in the area



Ironically, on the news this morning they reported a story on the fact that the population in Phoenix is dropping and relatively few people are moving there.

Isn't it odd how once immigration law is enforced, we begin to see these trends?

Here is a related article. It mentions immigration enforcement as one of the factors.

And of course, all the Mayor is worried about is losing money........the ultimate bottom line when it comes to IAs

Phoenix may be losing people
Population dip would further strain budget
Michael Clancy and Casey Newton - Jan. 12, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
For the first time in modern history, Phoenix's population could be shrinking.

It's an idea that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, when Phoenix was surging up the list of the nation's most populous cities. Now, a variety of indicators suggest that fewer people are living here than a year ago.

No one knows for sure exactly how many people have moved in or out. But with the 2010 census about to get under way, some indicators suggest Phoenix's population may be smaller than the projected 1,636,170 people.
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City records show declining trends in several key areas. Among them:


• Foreclosure numbers have skyrocketed, meaning fewer city homes are occupied.


• Water hookups are down, suggesting the same.


• Some aspects of trash collection have ebbed because fewer people are buying things that produce waste.


• Crime has declined across the city while police are getting fewer calls for services, a possible indicator of fewer people.


• Sales-tax revenues are likely to drop for the second year in a row, with this year's collections off almost 8 percent from last year.

Experts say each trend can be explained in part by other factors, such as the national recession and the bursting of the housing bubble. When consumer spending decreases, so do tax revenues and the amount of trash that people throw away.

Still, an Arizona Republic analysis of the trends suggests Phoenix has anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand people fewer than projected.

"I think the number is minor, but with all these indicators moving down, I think it is real," said City Manager Frank Fairbanks, declining to speculate of the number of people the city may have lost.

Several factors could be behind a population loss, Fairbanks and others say. The state law requiring employers to verify immigration status of their workers is believed to have driven many immigrants out of the state in 2008. The regional decline in construction jobs also could be behind an exodus.

Statewide, growth has slowed to a crawl. A population report released in December showed Arizona grew by 1.6 percent, or about 100,000 residents, in the previous fiscal year - less than half the growth rate of two years prior.

But the possibility that Phoenix has declined relative to other cities has leaders worried.


Tax revenue at risk

Losing any fraction of the city's population could mean less revenue to Phoenix from the state.

Arizona shares 15 percent of its income-tax collections with cities based on those cities' population.

Phoenix's population now represents about 30 percent of Arizona's population. This year, Phoenix got $435 million from the state. That made up 38.7 percent of the city's general fund.

Assuming that the suburbs maintain or grow their current populations, Phoenix's share of revenue from the state could shrink in coming years, compounding the city's budget crisis.


Phoenix already is facing cuts of $270 million, or more than 22 percent, from its budget this year. The city is weighing cuts from community centers, senior centers, libraries, police and fire protection, and other services.

"It's an important, pressing issue for all of our cities here, but Phoenix probably most of all," said Rita Walton, who monitors population for the Maricopa Association of Governments. "They're the biggest and stand to lose the most."


The evidence

Several indicators exist showing that the population could be declining. Among them:


• Water: The number of water-using accounts fell about 5,600 from fiscal 2007-08 to 2008-09. The number of accounts using no water almost doubled, on average, meaning those homes still have water connections but are probably empty.

Tracking population by water hookups is "a good way of watching for population change," said Steve Doig, a journalism professor at Arizona State University who used a similar method to track the return of people to southern Florida after Hurricane Andrew.

Evidence about the increasing number of water accounts using no water and the decreasing number of accounts generally indicates population decline.


• Trash: Trash collection dropped 2 percent overall from fiscal year 2006-07 to 2007-08. While the amount of recyclable material picked up increased slightly, bulk-trash pickup dropped almost 15 percent during the same period.

Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics at the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU, said trash collections, just like electrical and water hookups, frequently are used to gauge more precise population shifts than a census provides.


• Foreclosures: Bank repossessions of homes continue to increase. The key areas of decline are in the western part of the city. Phoenix overall had a staggering 534 percent increase in foreclosures in the first half of 2008, or an increase of about 5,000 additional homes in foreclosure compared with the first half of 2007. Figures for the last half of the year are not yet available.


• Taxes: Sales-tax collections have declined dramatically. Although not tied to growth as directly as water hookups, increases in sales-tax collections began slowing in 2006-07, then dropped in the next two years.

Hoffman said that since the retail sector thrives on population growth, it is reasonable to conclude that with the retail sector in so much trouble, declining sales-tax revenue could correlate to declining population.


• Crime: Phoenix saw violent crime decrease 0.3 percent last year, along with a 0.3 percent decrease in total property crimes. Crime has continued to fall in 2008, records show. In addition, Phoenix police have had fewer calls for service this year than last year, Police Chief Jack Harris said. Growing populations almost always result in more calls to police.


Hope ahead?

Not everyone is pessimistic. Mayor Phil Gordon expressed skepticism at the idea of a shrinking city.

"The growth of Phoenix, like all cities in the Valley, has slowed significantly. But Phoenix's net growth is still positive, both in jobs and population," he said.

Gordon said the city is poised to resume steady growth as soon as the economy emerges from the current recession.

"When the recovery comes, we will be better positioned to recover faster and take advantage of it than many other cities locally and throughout the U.S. The world and the nation know Phoenix.... Whether it's national or international, we're first on the list of cities to invest in as the economy turns."

I live in Beaufort County, and while some legal work has been done, the
"investigators" still will not go to job sites or ANY work areas to ask for
legal ID......Business license enforceors only can go to offices, not work
sites.. I know where to find them, right next door working on a million
dollar project..No one over there even speaks English.[/b]

Originally Posted by Okatieblue

I live in Beaufort County, and while some legal work has been done, the
"investigators" still will not go to job sites or ANY work areas to ask for
legal ID......Business license enforceors only can go to offices, not work
sites.. I know where to find them, right next door working on a million
dollar project..No one over there even speaks English.[/b]

You touched on a problem that frustrates me to the core. Our laws don't give citizens the power to citizens arrest on a potential Illegal, and the govt wont respond to a work site populated by non English speakers! You need solid proof which you would have to break the law to get!! We need a solid reporting system and action on citizen reports!!

We have businesses with million dollar government contracts that only are hiring immigrants. No one is checking, it is a mess; I think we, Americans should file a lawsuit against our government and businesses.

Should we start collecting fund for a case's initial attorney work?

If this type of process would be implemented all across the nation, the weeding out of illegal labor would begin. And yes, we must have worksite enforcement. There is a huge addition to a local hospital that is suspected to employ illegal alien labor for the most part. Where is ICE? Where are local officials? Head in the Sand as usual even with complaints. The Chattanooga,TN office has agents from Arizona and they just don't seem to do much the local officials and residents are saying.

E verifying I-9s as vmonkey keeps posting, is the only way to really see the identity theft and fraud that abounds.

We will be getting this out to local and state officials. There are ways to check for legality if the will to do so exists, or is mandated.

Psalm 91

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

If this type of process would be implemented all across the nation, the weeding out of illegal labor would begin.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

And yes, we must have worksite enforcement. There is a huge addition to a local hospital that is suspected to employ illegal alien labor for the most part. Where is ICE? Where are local officials? Head in the Sand as usual even with complaints. The Chattanooga,TN office has agents from Arizona and they just don't seem to do much the local officials and residents are saying.

E verifying I-9s as vmonkey keeps posting, is the only way to really see the identity theft and fraud that abounds.

We will be getting this out to local and state officials. There are ways to check for legality if the will to do so exists, or is mandated.

Psalm 91

That was one of my first thoughts as well GP.

If we've got the illegal alien population reducing on the east cost and in the SW due to tough laws, this is a huge indication that if the same measures were MANDATED on the FEDERAL level nationwide, we would see a considerable drop in illegal aliens and, possibly, a major exodus back into Mexico.

In the meantime, it's up to Americans to jump into EVERY available job that these people are abandoning when they leave and then make sure they hold their ground even when this situation ever begins to improve economically.

NOBODY can steal your seat when you are sitting in it

I wish there could be enforcement at the county prenatal clinics-huge numbers of non working illegal aliens populate these clinics every day.

We have the same situation hattiecat at our local county health department. Services that should only be going to citizen residents and legal entries are being given in preference to illegal aliens. Very wrong, and very sad.

We have too many global wannabees in our city and county officials. While their allegiance should be to the citizens who voted them in and to those who are entitled to services and benefits, they get the "feel good" thrill of thinking that they are being "continental" by allowing illegal aliens to fleece their citizenry.

Psalm 91