The Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced that in 2012 it had conducted the most audits in one year than ever before. Audits of employers’ I-9s increased from 250 in 2007 to more than 4,000 in 2012. As the number of audits rise, the fines and penalties ICE collects also continues to grow: From fiscal years 2009 to 2012 the total amount of fines grew to nearly $13,000,000 from $1 million. The state with the most businesses fined from I-9 audits was Texas with 63, followed by New Jersey with 37.
Operating under a $138 million, and growing, worksite enforcement budget, ICE audits are expected to continue to grow nationwide.
Federal law requires every employer hiring an individual for employment in the United States to verify his or her identity and employment authorization through the completion of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers can often face stiff penalties for I-9 violations which include substantial fines (ranging from $110 to $16,000 per violation) and/or debarment from government contracts. Penalties can be imposed for hiring unauthorized workers, as well as committing paperwork violations, even if workers are authorized to work.
The majority of violations resulting in fines (estimated to be about one-third to one-half) do not involve illegal workers; most fines are levied as a results of administrative paperwork (i.e. ‘clerical’) errors. Employers should not assume that just because they are confident that their workforce is legal means that they are in any way insulated from an inspection or fines. All employers should consider an internal audit of their I-9s, under the guidance of knowledgeable immigration counsel, to evaluate and improve their records prior to an inspection.