The Department of Homeland Security recently announced details of its new strategy to fight illegal immigration — and part of the plan is to focus more energy on going after employers.
In a fact sheet released April 30, the new administration’s DHS announced: “Effective immediately, ICE [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] will focus its resources … on the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers.”
Of the 6,000 arrests made in 2008, only 135 were of employers — a ratio the DHS now feels is much too low.
Does this mean companies need to do anything differently? No — they should just continue rigorously following all hiring laws.
Nothing in the law is changing — just the way the law is enforced. According to the fact sheet, ICE use “all available civil and administrative tools, including fines and debarment, to penalize and deter illegal employment.”
Obama puts employers in immigration crosshairs
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