May 2009
On April 30th the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a prioritization of worksite enforcement of immigration laws. Under the new enforcement strategy, local offices of DHS’ immigration enforcement branch, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are now directed to more thoroughly and aggressively investigate workplaces for immigration violations by employers. In particular, ICE has been directed to focus on the following:
- Compiling evidence of the mistreatment of workers, including evidence of trafficking, smuggling, harboring, visa fraud, identification document fraud, money laundering, and other related criminal conduct.
- Obtaining indictments, criminal arrests or search warrants, and/or working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for targeted employers before arresting employees for civil immigration violations.
- Enforcing existing humanitarian guidelines for worksites where 25 or more illegal workers are found. (Previously the focus was on larger violators with 150 or more illegal workers).
- And working with employers to enact compliance initiatives.
The impact on many companies could be significant. Previously, DHS focused its efforts on raiding employers who were believed to be large-scale violators of immigration laws. Under the new guidelines, however, employers with (suspected) relatively small illegal employee populations will now be at significantly greater risk of criminal prosecution for their illegal activities. Moreover, the new guidelines will shift the focus away from rounding-up illegal workers to prosecuting (civilly and/or criminally) managers, owners, and others involved in violating federal immigration laws.
Employers are now, more than ever, encouraged to enact immigration compliance policies and perform immigration audits to ensure that their staff is properly trained and apprised on the company’s compliance initiatives. If you have any questions regarding establishing compliance initiatives and/or policies, please contact Kevin Mosher, Director of Wessels Sherman’s Immigration Task Force at (952) 746-1700, or kemosher@wesselssherman.com
