Thread: OH: Area employers told to stop hiring illegal immigrants

Area employers told to stop hiring illegal immigrants
By Candice Brooks Higgins

Staff Writer

Friday, March 09, 2007

HAMILTON — When it comes to hiring illegal immigrants, an immigration attorney told a crowd of about 40 employers Thursday that it is not safe to "bury their head in the sand" and pretend they don't know.

Increased work site raids and arrests of not just illegal workers — but also their employers — should be a warning, Linda Peck of the Cincinnati law firm Frost, Brown, Todd told the crowd during the forum held at the Butler County Job Center. It was hosted by the Butler/Warren Ohio Employer Council and The Society for Human Resource Management.

In 2005, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 165 on criminal immigration charges and charged 980 for administrative violations, Peck said. However, in the first five months of 2006, ICE arrested 382 employers and 2,100 employees on criminal violations, she said.

Employers can be fined as much as $2,200 per illegal worker on a first offense and some criminal charges like harboring illegal immigrants carry five- to 10-year prison sentences if the person is convicted.

"You just can't hide your head in the sand anymore," Peck said. "You really have to take everything and make sure you follow up appropriately on each stage because, otherwise, you are looking at these criminal penalties."

Immigration agents can search employee records with only three days notice and without a court order, Peck said. Therefore, employers must keep complete and up-to-date U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services I-9 forms for every employee, she said.

The form is an employer's proof that they verified an employee's eligibility to work based on a Social Security Card, visa, or other identification that appeared to be valid. Temporary work authorizations need to be monitored for their expiration date.

Yet, as immigration enforcement remains a topic of national debate, employers might need to go a step further, Peck said.

The May 2006 raid of Fischer Homes building sites in Northern Kentucky that sparked the arrest of four site supervisors and 76 workers demonstrated that businesses need to protect themselves if they use subcontractors who might employ illegal workers, Peck said.

She recommended that businesses require their contractors to sign a statement that their employees are legal, conduct periodic self-audits of employee records or submit to a third-party audit. Requesting to view a subcontractor's employee files is not advised because then a company assumes legal liability.

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Way to go Hamilton! It makes me proud of my hometown to see this news. The Sheriff, Richard Jones, of Butler County is the Joe Arpaio of the Midwest. He is a true friend of our cause. This makes me feel like my parents and siblings may be just a little bit safer. We need more people like this, heroes. God, please let this happen in Portland/Gresham!

wait. an immigration attorney on our side? someone get that person a giant American flag!

thanks for the support, your the one good immigration attorney out there.

dragons5,

They could be with a firm like Judicial Watch and specalize in immigration litigation. So yea, there are a few good ones.

Dixie