ICE, Enforcement in News
Political Insider
On Feb. 17, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued 1,000 audit notices to employers across the country, requiring them to respond within just three days and produce certain hiring records and I-9 forms. An I-9 form, intended to document an employee’s legal authorization to work in the United States, has been required for all new hires since Nov. 6, 1986. According to ICE, the notices went to businesses of various sizes and industry sectors, but the audits were not random; the audits followed the receipt of information obtained through tips or the agency’s investigations.
The latest ICE enforcement initiative, which focuses on employer compliance instead of directly targeting undocumented workers, is a reminder to apartment firms to strengthen their compliance practices by reviewing current legal requirements, auditing internal practices and providing appropriate training for those involved in a company’s hiring process. Obama’s FY 2012 budget proposal would provide $5.8 billion for ICE, about 1 percent more than its present funding, which amounts to 10 percent of the Department of Homeland Security’s total budget.
In related news, several bills have been introduced in Congress to strengthen E-Verify, the federal government’s employee verification program. Rep. John Carter (R-TX) on Feb. 18 introduced the “Jobs Recovery by Ensuring a Legal American Workforce Act” (H.R. 800), which would make the E-Verify program mandatory, and permanent. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), head of the House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Policy and Enforcement Subcommittee, recently introduced a bill (HR 282) that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to screen all of their employees using E-Verify. Current law only requires covered contractors to use E-Verify to check the status of those who perform work on a federal contract. Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) introduced a measure (HR 98) intended to address verification errors related to ID theft and false identification documents by creating tamper-resistant Social Security cards.
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