I-9 Training Program
The US is witnessing unprecedented attention on the immigration issue and we want to help you know what to expect, and prepare your business.
Alcala Law Firm , has retained the assistance of one former senior Immigration officials who are available to conduct I-9 Audits, in preparation for increased audits and enforcement from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
What’s happening now?
The Department of Homeland Security, through its Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch, has been instructed by the administration to increase worksite enforcement. Steps are underway to reactivate the previously dormant Employer Sanctions Units (ESU). Until recently, ICE’s attention was directed to criminal aliens and industries vital to homeland security such as airports, ports, nuclear power plants, etc. Now, the mandate has come from the top to focus on all employers to ensure compliance with all federal laws. Employers who rely heavily on undocumented workers should expect to be targets of this initiative.
ICE agents are currently being trained on the subtleties of I-9 compliance, protocols of ICE raids, and other procedures relating to warrants and searches. While ICE does not have the wherewithal to deport the estimated 12 million undocumented workers living in this country, they will try to fine employers for hiring undocumented workers and remove the workers they identify. The cost to employers to re-hire and re-train their workforce could be significant.
Expect worksite enforcement
In Texas, we can expect to see worksite enforcement akin to what we saw in the late 1990’s in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, where the INS’s yearly goal was to remove thousands of undocumented workers employees from worksites in these key cities. As you may remember, employers who did not have the required I-9s completed properly faced fines pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Typically, fines ranged from $1,000 to $2,000 per violation. The new worksite initiative of ICE will have more resources than INS had in the late 1990’s and civil penalties have increased since.
Prepare. Prepare. Prepare.
All companies must redouble their efforts to ensure that the I-9 is completed properly and hiring personnel are trained in IRCA compliance. Alcala Law Firm, Attorneys at Law, has retained the services of two former senior Immigration officials who are available to conduct I-9 Audits.
The advantages of I-9 audits include:
- Businesses will be prepared should an actual I-9 worksite inspection befall them.
- Businesses have a chance to correct I-9 issues before being fined or penalized.
- Conducting an external audit by an independent professional firm is an excellent way for a company to demonstrate it’s “good faith intent” to comply with the law.
- Conducting a I-9 Audit is a “best practice” recommendation by ICE mutual agreement between government and employers.
- An external audit can diminish the potential fine a company faces or reduce it all together.
NOTE: Please note that the Consultant is not attorney and will not provide legal advice. Audits do not guarantee your workforce is free of undocumented workers; however, they do show that the company attempted in good faith to comply with the law. Our process only concerns the review of I-9s and hiring practices; employees are not interviewed, nor are original documents inspected.
