ICE Levies Record $3 Million in Civil Fines on Employers Hiring Unauthorized Workers So Far in 2010

By Thomas Ahearn, ESR news Staff Writer

According to a report in the New York Times, the U.S. Colonization and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has levied a record $3 million in civil fines so far in 2010 on employers that hired unauthorized staff not with permission eligible to work in the country.

Unlike the colonization raids and work-site roundups well loved during the previous administration, the Times reports the Obama administration favors a quieter enforcement approach that involves federal agents auditing a company’s employee records for illegal immigrant staff, which usually result in the illegal staff being fired by employers.

Over the past year, ICE has conducted audits of employee records – called “silent raids” by some employers – at extra than 2,900 companies, the Times reports, and thousands of those staff have been fired, immigrant groups estimate. Although ICE leaves it up to employers to give somebody their cards staff whose documents cannot be validated, the audits still force businesses not wanting to risk prosecution to give somebody their cards every suspected illegal worker on payrolls, and not just those working at the time of a raid, according to the Times report.

Due to the shift in the approach used to uncover illegal staff in U.S., an colonization law consultant quoted in the Times tale clarified that “instead of hundreds of agents going after one company, now one agent can go after hundreds of companies.” In the tale, ICE states that the goal of the audits is to make “a culture of compliance” among employers, so businesses need to avoid committing labor abuses and colonization violations – whether knowingly or unknowingly – or risk fines, penalties, and even jail.

In view of the fact that ICE auditors may inspect a company’s Employment Eligibility Verification forms – also known as I-9 forms, which all new hires in the country must fill out – employers need to make sure all employees on payroll are with permission eligible to work in the country. Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a national background screening provider and authorized E-Verify Designated Agent – can help employers virtually eliminate I-9 form errors, improve the accuracy of their reporting, protect jobs for authorized staff, and help maintain a legal workforce. For extra in rank about the E-Verify Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification system, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/formi9.php.

Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/us/10enforce.html?_r=2&emc=eta1

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