The Orlando Sentinel reported today that critics in the federal government have raised concerns that although the President has heightened immigration enforcement efforts on businesses that are suspected of hiring undocumented immigrants, and despite the fact that the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) has already conducted more workplace audits of the I-9  (Employment Eligibility Verification) forms, critics feel that the government’s enforcement has been has been too lenient [...]

The New York Times reported recently that the hiring records of the Gervais Family Farms in Bakersfield, Vermont were inspected as part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (USICE’s) enforcement efforts to inspect the employment records of 1,000 businesses across the United States.  The businesses that were inspected were either known or suspected to have hired undocumented immigrants. The USICE imposes [...]

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) reported earlier this week that it has just issued about 180 Notices of Inspection (NOI’s) to businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. The NOI’s informed the affected business owners that they have three (3) days to prepare for the USICE to inspect their hiring records to determine whether or not they have hired unauthorized [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) fined a manufacturer from Detroit, MI accused of failing to properly complete approximately 100 employment eligibility forms for its workers. The USICE conducted an audit back in March of this year and discovered various discrepancies.  As a result, USICE investigators charged the manufacturer with violations including failing to keep on file, employee attestations stating that they [...]

The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement  (USICE) reported today that it has issued Notices of Inspection (NOI’s) to 1,000 businesses across the U.S. who are in the business of critical infrastructure informing them that the USICE will be auditing their hiring records to determine compliance with employment eligibility verification laws. The 1,000 businesses that were served with the NOI’s were randomly selected based on the [...]

The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) reported yesterday that the owners of a poultry processing plant in Missouri where over 130 undocumented workers were arrested back in 2007 reached a settlement with the USICE on August 14, 2009 to pay a $450,000 fine as a result of a worksite enforcement investigation conducted by the USICE.  The USICE will use the funds for continued worksite enforcement. Generally, as part [...]

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) issued a press release yesterday stating that as President Obama renewed his Administration’s pledge to pursue comprehensive immigration reform, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced its intention to refocus its worksite enforcement on criminal prosecutions of employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers.   The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship led [...]