Included in the testimony given by Secretary Janet Napolitano before the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary was a summary of the success and progress of the Department of Homeland Security’s worksite enforcement activities: Since Fiscal Year 2009, ICE has audited more than 6,000 employers suspected of hiring illegal labor, debarred 441 companies and individuals, and imposed more than $76 million in financial sanctions. In Fiscal Year 2011, ICE also criminally arrested 221 employers accused of violations related to employment, an agency record.
Secretary Napolitano credited specific practices for the successful results: Focusing on employers who knowingly and repeatedly hire illegal labor, utilizing robust Form I-9 inspections, civil fines, debarment, and enhancing compliance tools like E-Verify.
E-Verify is a web-based employment verification system managed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and is designed to assist employers in complying with the law. According to the testimony, as of Fiscal Year 2011, more than 292,000 employers have enrolled in E-Verify, representing more than 898,000 locations. More than 1,000 new employers enroll each week and the number of employers enrolled in E-Verify has more than doubled each fiscal year since 2007. In Fiscal Year 2011 alone, E-Verify processed 17.4 million employment queries. Specific improvements to E-Verify's accuracy and efficiency were cited including a reduction in mismatches for naturalized and derivative U.S. citizens by adding naturalization data and U.S. passport data to E-Verify.
THOMAS HOUSTON associates, inc. can assist your company in Form I-9 compliance. We offer both a Form I-9 Compliance Assessment service and an on-line self-paced Form I-9 / E-Verify Compliance training course. For more information, please visit our website, call 1-800-330-9000 or click here to schedule a convenient time for one of our consultants to call you.
