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AZCapitolTimes.com reports that Arizona’s senate, by a party-line 17-13 vote, passed a broad, immigration-focused bill covering a wide range of topics including law enforcement procedures, criminal law, and traffic congestion. The bill would:

• require police officers to make a reasonable attempt to determine a person’s immigration status when “practicable;”
• allow illegal immigrants to be charged with trespassing;
• make it unlawful for anyone seeking work, regardless of their immigration status, to enter a vehicle stopped on the street;
• penalize drivers who impede traffic in an attempt to hire a day laborer;
• prohibit state and local governments from adopting policies that restrict the enforcement of immigration laws; and
• require state and local governments to comply with, and assist in enforcing, federal immigration laws.

The bill now moves to Arizona’s house of representatives for consideration.

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Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) has unveiled comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would, among other provisions:

• strengthen border security;
• create a streamlined employment verification system;
• amend the visa program to promote the reunification of families;
• establish a commission to recommend changes to the current system of H-1B and H-2B visas for skilled workers;
• impose tougher penalties for employers who hire illegal workers; and
• legalize undocumented immigrants who register with the federal government, pay a $500 fine, learn English, pass background checks, and meet other requirements. Individuals who meet these requirements would then be eligible for a six-year visa and, finally, a green card.

In unveiling the bill, titled The Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP), Gutierrez was joined by a coalition of lawmakers, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus and Progressive Caucus.
 

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On December 9, 2009, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed her stance that immigration enforcement is a necessity and must be achieved in conjunction with comprehensive reform of the United States’ broken immigration system. Secretary Napolitano stated, "We can no longer perpetuate a status quo that is unacceptable for workers, employers, law enforcement, faith leaders, and America as a whole. We must seize this moment to build a truly effective immigration system that deters illegal immigration, provides effective and enduring enforcement tools, protects workers from exploitation and retaliation, and creates a tough but fair path to legalization for the millions of illegal immigrants already here."

This statement, made at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, reiterates the position of the Obama Administration and its intent to present a proposal for comprehensive immigration reform to Congress in early 2010.

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The Contra Costa Times reports that this month over 1,000 businesses will face forensic audits conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many businesses, e.g., those involved in the food supply chain, have been targeted because they are connected to public safety and to the United States’ “critical infrastructure.”

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As reported previously on this blog, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced the opening of a new Verification Operations Center in Buffalo, NY. This center will employ approximately 135 people with the sole objective of performing immigration status verification for the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) and E-Verify systems. Specifically, the new center will run verification checks of employee work authorization status for companies enrolled in E-Verify, and it will confirm immigration status inquiries for government entities using SAVE. This is the first USCIS field office dedicated to monitoring compliance and ensuring the correct use of the SAVE and E-Verify programs. The Buffalo Verification Operations Center will spearhead USCIS's initiative to stop employers and third-party "investigation" companies from using E-Verify improperly. This development is the government's attempt to improve the integrity of both SAVE and E-Verify. These efforts may also facilitate the reduction of potential discriminatory effect in the application of E-Verify procedures and safeguard privacy interests.

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At a symposium in Washington, D.C., US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that today (November 19, 2009), an additional 1,000 Notices of Inspection (NOI) will be issued. This is a significant move and reveals the administration's intent to increase enforcement actions against employers that engage in the unlawful hiring of undocumented workers. This year alone, Immigration Customs and Enforcement has issued 1,044 NOIs, which is three times as many NOIs than were issued in 2008. Adding another 1,000 NOIs drastically increases this statistic. To further illustrate the administration's aggressive pursuit of employers, Notices of Fines totaling $24 million have been issued in 2009, compared with $2.4 million in 2008. Also, during 2009, 100 companies and individuals have been barred from doing business with the federal government, whereas only one company was barred last year.

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The New York Times reports that the Obama Administration will push to implement immigration reform measures in the first quarter of 2010. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano indicated today in an address to the Center for American Progress that immigration reform will be put on the political agenda early in 2010. Napolitano sent a clear message to Congress that it should be ready for movement on immigration. Specifically, Napolitano referred to a "three-legged stool" approach that will incorporate tougher enforcement laws aimed at employers and illegal immigrants, a streamlined system for legal immigration, and a stringent process to allow illegal immigrants to become legal. It is anticipated that the Administration's focus on securing the border and targeting employers that hire undocumented workers will substantially increase while the foundation is laid to introduce an immigration reform initiative to Congress.

This entry was written by Ian R. Macdonald.

Photo credit: David Franklin

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a proposed rule (pdf) rescinding regulations instituting safe harbor procedures for employers that receive no-match letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or notice of suspect documents letters from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding their employees’ authorization to work in this country.

Read full story on Littler's Washington DC Employment Law Update blog.

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The New York Times reports that President Obama’s approach to immigration enforcement has remained similar to that of his predecessor. Employee paperwork audits have been conducted at hundreds of businesses and prosecutions for immigration violations have increased. E-Verify, the federal program that allows employers to check applicants’ work authorization status, has been expanded, as has a cooperative program between federal, state, and local officials that runs immigration checks on individuals booked at certain local jails.

The reliance on holdover policies has upset immigrant and Latino advocates, key supporters of Obama’s election, who believed the new administration would take a different, less harsh approach. Although administration officials state that they have backed away from unpopular mass factory roundups of illegal immigrants, advocates contend that the administration’s continuation of existing programs will result in further ethnic profiling and civil rights violations.

As previously discussed, Democrats are planning to introduce an immigration reform bill sometime this year or in early 2010. Anticipating a legislative battle, influential party members have suggested members alter their language when discussing the issue—e.g., abandoning the term “undocumented” in reference to illegal immigrants—to demonstrate their commitment to preventing illegal immigration and strengthening immigration enforcement.

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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that it will begin to investigate workplaces in all 50 states to identify employers who are hiring undocumented workers. Specifically on July 1, 2009, ICE launched a comprehensive audit initiative and issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 businesses nationwide. States are also beginning to increase their enforcement efforts so employers should take steps to ensure compliance with both federal and state immigration requirements. Continue reading Littler ASAP "Latest Developments in Employment Verification Enforcement" by Jorge R. Lopez, Chadwick M. Graham and Melissa M. Randall.

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On April 30, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Fact Sheet discussing its revised Worksite Enforcement Strategy. The DHS enforcement strategy was revised at the direction of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano after she expressed concerns that enforcement efforts were targeted more at employees rather than employers abusing the law. Indeed, the Fact Sheet acknowledges that there were more than 6,000 arrests related to worksite enforcement in 2008, but only 135 employers were arrested.

The revised strategy "reflects a renewed Department-wide focus targeting criminal aliens and employers who cultivate illegal workplaces by . . . knowingly hiring illegal workers." Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is to focus its resources on the criminal prosecution of employers that knowingly hire illegal workers, but will continue to arrest and prosecute illegal workers found during the course of worksite enforcement actions. ICE will also use all available civil and administrative tools, including fines and debarment, to deter illegal employment.

The Fact Sheet indicates that ICE will look for evidence of mistreatment of workers in addition to evidence indicating criminal conduct such as trafficking, smuggling, harboring, visa fraud, identification document fraud, or money laundering. Before conducting a raid and arresting workers at the site of employment, ICE will obtain indictments, criminal arrest or search warrants, or a commitment from the US Attorney's office to prosecute the employer. The existing humanitarian guidelines governing ICE’s behavior in raids affecting 150 or more employees will now apply to worksite enforcement efforts impacting 25 or more illegal workers.

The revised enforcement strategy suggests that there will be increased criminal enforcement efforts and interagency cooperative investigations. It is likely that ICE will continue the growing trend of planting agents within the employer's workforce to gather evidence of criminal activity. Going forward, it is almost a certainty that enforcement efforts will begin with an audit of I-9 compliance, particularly for employers in industries with high percentages of illegal workers, as well as for employers engaged in infrastructure projects. A recent Congressional Research Service report (PDF) analyzing unauthorized employment in the U.S. listed the following industries as having significant (over 10%) employment of illegal workers: Food Manufacturing, Agriculture, Furniture Manufacturing, Construction, Textiles and Apparel, Food Services, Administrative and Support Services, and Accommodation. Employers in these industries should review their I-9 compliance and adopt best practices to avoid adverse consequences related to employment of unauthorized workers.

This entry was authored by David Whitlock.
 

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President Barack Obama plans to begin addressing changes to the U.S. immigration system this year, even though he acknowledges that the recession makes the politics involved in this divisive issue even more challenging. As reported in The New York Times, a senior administration official stated that Obama will frame the new effort as “policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system.”

Without stating specific proposals, officials commented that the Obama administration favors legislation that would:

• bring illegal immigrants into the legal system by acknowledging that they violated the law and imposing fines and other penalties as deemed appropriate; and
• guard against future illegal immigration by strengthening border enforcement and being tough on employers who hire illegal immigrants, while creating a national system for verifying the legal immigration status of new workers.

Obama plans to speak publicly about immigration issues in May, and over the summer he will convene bipartisan working groups, composed of lawmakers and a variety of immigration groups, to begin discussing possible legislation. Administration officials are still debating the precise timing and strategy for the proposed legislation.

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has tapped a hot-button immigration issue by aiming enforcement efforts at employers. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, field guidelines for the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will shift focus away from workplace raids aimed at rounding up individual undocumented workers and, instead, will go after the employers themselves. An emphasis will be placed on arresting and prosecuting employers who knowingly employ undocumented workers.

This shift is in line with a declaration made by President Barack Obama during last year’s campaign in which he claimed that past enforcement policies had failed because they focused on the individual rather than the employer. Targeting employers is a strategic attempt to reduce the supply of jobs available to undocumented workers. But with an estimated 12 million people currently living in the United States illegally, the shift raises uncertainty as to whether there is a sufficient number of willing and qualified U.S. workers to fill positions vacated when employers begin purging their workforces.

The Department of Homeland Security has made it clear that it still plans to conduct worksite enforcement raids. Still, this fundamental shift in priorities raises serious additional concerns for employers who could find themselves facing criminal charges. Even though it is difficult to prove that an employer “knowingly” employed undocumented workers—which provides a potentially large loophole for employers—the threat alone may have a significant impact on the workplace.

This entry was authored by Chad Graham.
 

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The 2008 year-end report on the federal judiciary (pdf), written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., noted that filings concerning criminal charges in immigration cases jumped by 27%, to more than 21,000.  This growth resulted mostly from filings addressing improper reentry by aliens and filings involving fraud and misuse of visa or entry permits in the five southwestern border districts.

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A record-setting settlement of claims alleging the knowing employment of illegal aliens demonstrates the government's intent to enforce immigration law through interagency task force investigations.

For more information about this development, see Littler's ASAP: Record Worksite Enforcement Settlement Sends Message to Employers of Illegal Aliens by David C. Whitlock.

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