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US immigration agency intensifies employer monitoring efforts

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on Wednesday issued inspection notices to 652 businesses in an increased effort to target employers that use illegal labor. ICE notified selected employers that they would be auditing their I-9 employee eligibility forms, which employers are required to file and retain for each employee. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for ICE John Morton said that the measure was "first step in ICE's long-term strategy to address and deter illegal employment" and that the agency is "committed to establishing a meaningful I-9 inspection program to promote compliance with the law." The audit reflects a shift in focus in federal immigration enforcement, from workplace raids to targeting employers directly, announced last month by US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano during a speech at the Aspen Institute. In March, the administration proposed an overhaul of US immigration policy. Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder vacated an order by former attorney general Michael Mukasey that had denied those facing deportation the right to challenge immigration decisions based on ineffective assistance of counsel claims. In February, Napolitano called for a review of workplace raids conducted by ICE agents. ICE has arrested many non-criminal illegal immigrants in the past year, many of whom were imprisoned. In April 2008, Seton Hall Law School's Center for Social Justice filed a lawsuit claiming that warrantless immigration raids violate the US Constitution.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 02, 2009 (boomark / email).