Increase in Government
Immigration Enforcement Activities
Worksite enforcement activities continue to be expanded by the federal
government resulting in significant increases in fines and criminal
arrests of company owners and managers. The Immigration and Customs
Enforcement division (known as ICE) has issued press releases describing
a number of recent enforcement actions and is reminding employers that
Company executives are not protected from prosecution. ICE reports
that in 2007, more than 90 individuals in company supervisory roles were
criminally arrested for harboring illegal aliens, knowingly hiring them
and other violations tied to illegal immigration.
Recent enforcement cases underscore the importance of compliance with
immigration laws, the responsibility of company owners and managers in
ensuring compliance, and the severity of the punishment for violating
those laws:
The
owner and two managers of a Houston-based exporter and grader of
used clothing were indicted in July 2008 on various charges of
violating federal immigration laws. The ICE investigation
revealed the company did not properly complete the required I-9
forms to verify eligibility for employment. It also revealed
the company knowingly hired illegal aliens and reportedly paid them
in cash until they were able to purchase fraudulent identify and
social security cards from local flea markets. The charges
carry a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or
both.
ICE agents executed search warrants at a meatpacking plant in
Postville, Iowa, arresting 389 illegal aliens, the most ever
arrested in a single-site worksite enforcement operation. Two
supervisors were also arrested and charged with crimes that included
aiding with identity theft and encouraging aliens to reside in the
US illegally.
Six meat processing plants in six different states were raided and
1,297 illegal aliens were arrested. All were charged as
immigration status violators and 274 were also charged with criminal
offenses. A human resources employee also pleaded guilty to
illegal alien harboring.
In March 2008, three former top executives at a Florida-based
janitorial services contractor were given prison sentences ranging
from 30 to 120 months for their roles in defrauding the US and
harboring illegal aliens. Each was also required to pay more
than $15 million in restitution to the US Treasury. By failing
to collect and pay federal income, Social Security, Medicare and
federal employment taxes on wages it paid, the company evaded paying
millions in employment taxes.
57 illegal alien employees of a metal fabrication business were
arrested and the company was indicted on 10 counts of harboring
illegal aliens. The company's human resources director was
indicted and pled guilty to two counts of encouraging or inducing
illegal aliens to remain in the US.
A textile product company owner and three other managers were
arrested and charged with conspiring to encourage or induce illegal
aliens to reside in the US and conspiring to hire illegal aliens.
The company allegedly was aware that many employee used fraudulent
green cards and social security cards to obtain employment, and
allegedly told prospective employees how to obtain fraudulent
documents.
A review of ICE
enforcement actions over the past few years makes it abundantly clear
that ICE continues to increase enforcement activities. In fiscal year
2007, ICE secured more than $30 million in criminal fines, restitutions,
and civil judgments in worksite enforcement cases. 863 people were
arrested in criminal cases and more than 4,000 administrative arrests
were made. That is a tenfold increase over just five years before.
As of August 2008, ICE made more than 1,000 criminal arrests tied to
worksite enforcement investigations. Of the 1,022 individuals
criminally arrested, 116 are owners, managers, supervisors or human
resources employees facing charges including harboring or knowingly
hiring illegal aliens. More than 3,900 administrative arrests for
immigration violations have also been made so far in 2008.
Employers have an affirmative obligation to verify that their employees
are legally able to work in the US.
To help you meet your compliance objectives, we have posted the most
recent I-9 forms that should be used to document employment eligibility.
Links to the English and Spanish version of the forms are available on
the Free Resources
page of this website. Note that the Spanish version can be used
for translation purposes, but the English version must be the form
completed and kept on file.
