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ICE Issues Form I-9 Audit Notices to 180 Employers in Five States

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, has announced that it is issuing notices of inspection to review the hiring records of 180 employers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee.  According to the March 2 announcement, ICE will inspect and review hiring records to determine whether they comply with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations.

Worksite Enforcement Strategy

ICE implemented a worksite enforcement strategy in 2009 to focus on auditing and investigating employers to “hold employers accountable for their hiring practices.”  With the latest announcement, ICE is on track to serve almost 2,000 employers with notices of inspection in less than one year.  It served 652 notices of inspections last summer and 1,000 in November.  (See ICE Sends Over 650 Employers I-9 Audit Notices in Nationwide Immigration Enforcement Initiative and ICE Announces of I-9 Audits of 1,000 Employers.)

Prepare for an Audit

Employers can best prepare by taking preventive measures that include:

• conducting in-house audits of I-9s,
• correcting form errors,
• formalizing or updating employment eligibility verification practices and procedures,
• establishing ongoing I-9 training programs, and
• analyzing subcontractor and temporary staffing relationships. 

Jackson Lewis Global Immigration attorneys are available to discuss preventive measures and how to manage an I-9 audit.