DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES FACT SHEET RELATED TO WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES FACT SHEET RELATED TO WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES FACT SHEET RELATED TO WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY

             On April 30, 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a Fact Sheet related to “Worksite Enforcement Strategy,” and designed to emphasize DHS’s responsibility to enforce the law prohibiting the hiring of illegal workers, and to protect employment opportunities for the nation’s lawful workforce.

             In issuing the Fact Sheet DHS noted that “of the more than 6,000 arrests related to worksite enforcement in 2008, only 135 were employers.”  However, DHS also emphasized that the department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) are focused on reducing abuses by both aliens and employers who cultivate illegal workplaces by breaking the country’s laws and knowingly hiring illegal workers.

             Among the other points made by the DHS in its Fact Sheet were the following:

ICE will continue to arrest and process for removal any illegal workers who are found employed illegally in the course of these worksite enforcement actions in a manner consistent with immigration law and DHS priorities.

Furthermore, ICE will use all available civil and administrative tools, including civil fines and debarment, to penalize and deter illegal employment. 

ICE officers will be held to high investigative standards. 

ICE will look for evidence of the mistreatment of workers, along with evidence of trafficking, smuggling, harboring, visa fraud, identification document fraud, money laundering, and other such criminal conduct. 

ICE offices will obtain indictments, criminal arrest or search warrants, or a commitment from a U.S. Attorney’s Office (“USAO”) to prosecute the targeted employer before arresting employees for civil immigration violations at a worksite. 

Existing humanitarian guidelines will remain in effect, impacting worksite enforcements involving 25 or more illegal workers. This reflects a change from the previous threshold of 150. 

DHS stated its commitment to providing employers with the most up-to-date and effective resources to comply with our nation’s laws. 

DHS will continue to work with partners in the public and private sectors to maintain a legal workforce through training and employee verification tools like E-verify, which improve the accuracy of determinations of employment eligibility and also combat illegal employment. 

The Fact Sheet and other useful information may be accessed through DHS’s website: http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm.

Roman Amaguin, Esq.; www.amaguinlaw.com; [email protected]