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As we have suspected with the actions coming from the Executive Branch this year, ICE has confirmed that worksite enforcement is set to sharply increase.
On October 17, 2017, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tom Homan, said that he has asked Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to increase the amount of time spent on worksite enforcement investigations by four to five times.
Director Homan went on to point out that the number of inspections on worksite operations will increase significantly this year and the agency's goal will continue to be to criminally prosecute employers for noncompliance.
According to 2015 Congressional Research Service Report, ICE arrested over 300 employers on criminal charges related to worksite enforcement in 2014. We can expect this number rise dramatically in the coming year.
Employers should also be concerned about criminal fines, forfeitures, and administrative fines that come with worksite enforcement. The Report shows that ICE worksite enforcement program brought in over $35,000,000 in just criminal fines and forfeitures and more than $16,000,000 in administrative fines in 2014.
How to Protect Yourself and Your Company?
In response to the Federal government's promise to investigate more employers, every company should train and adopt a comprehensive immigration compliance plan. A good immigration compliance plan must include a full initial training of all employees who are involved in the hiring process and scheduled annual training updates.
Don’t become the next target. For more information on how to fully protect yourself and your company, register for a webinar through the Corporate Immigration Compliance Institute.
Danielle Atchison
Business Immigration Lawyer
MDIVANI CORPORATE IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM