Homeland Security and ICE Announce Record Immigration Enforcement Statistics
This week, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton announced record-breaking immigration enforcement statistics achieved under the Obama administration–including unprecedented numbers of convicted criminal alien removals and overall alien removals in fiscal year 2010.
Not only have DHS and ICE removed more convicted criminal aliens than ever before, they also announced that they have issued more financial sanctions on employers who knowingly and repeatedly violate immigration law than in history. Employers should be aware that since January 2009, ICE has audited more than 3,200 employers suspected of hiring illegal labor, debarred 225 companies and individuals, and imposed approximately $50 million in financial sanctions.
As you know, over the past year I have been pushing clients to make sure that they are in compliance with the I-9s. Our HR Audits are still finding clients are not fully in compliance. The size of the company does not matter. Every employer is required to have an I-9 on file including one on the owner of the company. Next year the heat from “Ice” is going to be stepped up. State agencies are also reviewing I-9s if for some reason they have to come on to company premises. The common mistakes that we are still finding are I-9s in the personnel files, the date of hire does not appear on the I-9, and over documentation (the employer has filled in all three of the columns. You only need one item from column “A” OR documentation in column “B” AND “C”).
As a final note, if an applicant cannot provide the required information within three days, tell them that they cannot return until they bring it in. DO NOT tell them what documentation to bring in. Give them a copy of the required documentation and let them choose. In addition, do not make assumptions that the process is being done correctly. Physically, double check. There’s too much money at stake.
3 Comments
I need to clarify re: I-9’s. Is it ok for the I-9
to be filed in each employee’s personnal file??Please let me know.. Thanks
NO!!! Do not file I-9’s in the personnel file. For every I-9 found in the file it is a $1,000 fine. Keep them all in one separate folder. Three years for current employees, and one year for former employees.
Never file I-9s in the personnel file. They have to be put in a separate folder going back three years for current employees and one year for former employees.