DHS Reports on Employer Enforcement and Compliance
Janet Napolitano, the DHS Secretary, has indicated that employer investigations will continue and, possibly, intensify. In 2009 there were $24 million in employer fines (compared to zero in 2006). In 2009, 45 businesses and 47 individuals have been debarred while in 2008 only one was debarred. Immigration compliance and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued over 1,000 I-9 Notice of Inspection (NOI) in 2009 to random employers with another 1,000 announced at the symposium. I-9 audits, many of which are conducted randomly, may result in civil penalties, and where bad faith is found, lead to criminal prosecution.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-888-884-3910
Form I-9 Employment Verifications
2009 was a year of significant government initiatives in the area of immigration compliance: a new I-9 form was released limiting the types of qualifying documents; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated numerous I-9 audits by issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to over 1,650 employers across the country; the Social Security No-Match regulation was abandoned; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) initiated thousands of H-1B employer site visits; and E-Verify was made mandatory for numerous federal contractors via a new regulation made effective on September 8, 2009.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-888-884-3910
USCIS Announces Increased Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives
ICE is on the move again. This year alone, Immigration Customs and Enforcement has issued 1,044 NOIs, which is three times as many NOIs than were issued in 2008. Adding another 1,000 NOIs drastically increases this statistic. To further illustrate the administration’s aggressive pursuit of employers, Notices of Fines totaling $24 million have been issued in 2009, compared with $2.4 million in 2008. Also, during 2009, 100 companies and individuals have been barred from doing business with the federal government, whereas only one company was barred last year.
You can read the full article linked below.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-888-884-3910
Immigration Compliance – Hiring Illegals More Burden Put On Employers
In September, American Apparel, a Los Angeles clothing maker fired about 1,800 immigrant workers — more than a quarter of its work force — after a government audit found problems with documentation meant to verify their legal status.
You can read the full article linked below.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20091122/OPINION01/311229973/-1/opinion
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-888-884-3910
Has An Immigration Study Found Enforcement Has Undermined Workers’ Rights?
Don’t let immigration Compliance affect good relationships with your employees. “The balance between worksite immigration enforcement and labor standards enforcement must be recalibrated,” argued co-author Rebecca Smith of the National Employment Law Project. “ICE’s failure to uphold the firewall between enforcement of immigration laws and enforcement of labor laws has undercut both policies. Employers have been encouraged to violate wage and hour laws, OSHA requirements, and labor laws that protect collective bargaining rights. All workers, both immigrant and native born, are suffering from depressed core labor standards as a result.”
Read the full article linked below.
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/10/27-8
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-888-884-3910
Is Main Street Being Affected By Immigration Laws?
Will the new administration be able to keep to their campaign promises? If readers will recall, the president along with many other politicians made bold promises as they always do during election season on the issue of immigration . Among the promises made were the ideas of amnesty and illegal immigrants paying back taxes and other fines.
You can read the full article linked below.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-888-884-3910
New City Requirements May Have An Affect on Workers’ Status
Would your benefits be affected in the state of Georgia? Under amended Georgia law 50-36-1 during the 2009 legislative session, city governments must verify whether a person is legally in the United States in the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program or SAVE before receiving benefits. Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, verification will be required for employee benefits, disability benefits and those seeking commercial/professional licenses.
Read the full article linked below.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/880185.html
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-888-884-3910
Immigration Due Diligence: Costly To Ignore, But Not To Implement
In early May Overhill Farms, a large frozen food company in the suburbs of Los Angeles, found itself on the bleeding edge of immigration law enforcement. It was notified by the Internal Revenue Service that an audit had uncovered that one-fourth of its 1,000 employees had discrepancies in their Social Security records that turned out to be unresolvable, exposing their status as illegal immigrants. The company had little choice but to let the workers go in one fell swoop. Overhill quickly found replacement workers, but the episode was traumatic for management and workers alike, as it came with little warning.
You can link to the full article below.
http://www.ilw.com/articles/2009,0806-mcgraw.shtm
W. Garnett & Associates, HR Consultant
1-888-884-3910
Immigration, Service Labor & Politics
U.S. immigration laws, enforcement and politics are tied up in an overwhelmingly complex knot.
Immigration touches all areas of society: the economy, publicly funded social systems, and universal human rights.
At a business level, immigration confuses and frightens workers and employers alike.
For low-wage service industries in particular, immigration is the tornado in the distance, a quickening wind now with an unknown future impact.
You can read the full article below.
http://www.serviceperformance.com/blog/2009/08/06/immigration-service-labor-politics/
W. Garnett & Associates, HR Consultant
1-888-884-3910
Immigration Detention: Enforcing a Double Standard
According to a massive report just released by the ACLU of Southern California, the National Immigration Law Center and other legal advocates, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention centers have routinely blocked detainees’ contact with family members and advocates, cut off from critical health care services, and provided little legal recourse against maltreatment—all with virtually no meaningful oversight.
Read the full article linked below.
http://www.racewire.org/archives/2009/07/immigration_detention_enforcin_1.html
W. Garnett & Associates, HR Consultant
1-888-884-3910
