"ICE" is short for the Department of Immigration, Customs and Enforcement. It is taking a much tougher position with employers since President Obama took office. During fiscal year 2008, ICE made over 1,100 criminal arrests for hiring illegal aliens. Of those, 135 were owners, managers, supervisors and human resource employees who "knowingly" hired or harbored illegal employees. The remaining criminal arrests involved identity theft and Social Security fraud.

During the week of April 30, 2009, ICE updated its enforcement guidelines on workplace immigration violations and enforcement. The new guidelines put more focus on workplace violations by employers. ICE contends that illegal aliens will continue to be the target but more emphasis is being put on criminal prosecution of employers, managers, supervisors and human resource professionals that hire illegal aliens.

On February 28, 2009, ICE conducted a raid on Yamato Engine Specialist in Bellingham, Washington and detained 28 employees who were accused of being illegal aliens; three female employees were released to take care of their children, 2 were deported and the rest were set free. However, ICE later served a warrant on Yamato's headquarters and confiscated its computers and boxes of documents as evidence. President Obama has promised to target the employers "who benefit from undocumented workers".

Management should expect more cases similar to the Yamato raid and more headlines about the prosecution of management.

If your company has questions or issues with verification of the right to work in the United States, you should contact a Human Resources professional or an attorney that specializes in Employment and Labor law.

You can call Roger Bishop at 702-237-1333 at Applied Human Resources, Inc.
www.myappliedhumanresources.com

Roger Bishop is the founder and owner of Applied Human Resources, Inc.