Thread: United States: Preparing For The ICE Storm

United States: Preparing For The ICE Storm

09 October 2007
Article by Linda S. Husar, Seth Neulight, Steven B. Katz and Jo Anne C. Adlerstein


On August 31, 2007, the AFL-CIO and other labor advocates obtained a Temporary Restraining Order against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Social Security Administration (SSA). This order has delayed the September 14, 2007 implementation of the biggest anti-employer regulations to impact U.S. businesses in over 20 years.

I-9s

The immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) compelled employers to verify the identity and work authorization of all individuals hired after November 6, 1986. A form I-9 is now routinely presented to new hires, along with Form W-4, requesting income, tax withholding information and Social Security numbers, insurance plan enrollment forms, employee handbooks, and confidentiality agreements.

Over the past 20 years, employers have generally complied with the I-9 process. In the late 1980s, friendly Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) personnel paid educational visits to employers to explain the verification process. Civil penalties and criminal prosecutions were rare. The Office of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination was established to help employers get prospective employees through the I-9 process if there were any documents available to satisfy the I-9 criteria. Raids on notorious employers of undocumented foreign laborers were sporadic. Employers were also repeatedly assured that they were not to be detectives. It was never the employer’s duty to look behind the forms presented. A Lawful Permanent Resident card, colloquially called a “green card,â€

Re:

[quote]6. Employers must be prepared for government “visitsâ€