November 20, 2009
ICS
Yesterday, ICE announced that they were delivering 1,000 new Notices of Inspection (NOI) to businesses of all sizes throughout the United States – the largest single effort of this kind. ICE stated that these audits will focus on critical infrastructure facilities, although we know of clients in the food service and retail industries that have already received NOIs as well. Just as in the last round of audits, these audits should be served at your headquarters office, not at any of your field locations.
As a reminder, if you receive a NOI from ICE, you should take steps to ensure your company is best positioned to defend the audit and mitigate any liability. Make sure that you notify all appropriate employees that if they receive a NOI from ICE that they should contact the company’s chief compliance officer immediately. Also, check with your subcontractors to ensure that they did not receive a NOI, and, if they did, conduct an analysis of whether their NOI poses any risks to your planned staffing or operational needs. A full description of our recommendations to companies receiving NOIs is available at this link: http://iandcsolutions.com/uploaded/file/AuditAlert712009.pdf.
In addition to the audit announcement, the Department of Homeland Security hosted a symposium yesterday on employers and the government working together. The event was kicked off by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, and also included ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas.
In Secretary Napolitano’s remarks, she emphasized the Administration’s approach to target employers but also provide assistance to employers who seek to do the right thing. Quite simply, in her view, “hiring authorized workers is good for business.” She also announced an initiative to help businesses that are part of E-Verify and the IMAGE program to get additional recognition from their participation, the “I E-Verify Campaign.” Secretary Napolitano’s comments should be encouraging to all employers who are following government guidance and employing tools such as E-Verify.
Businesses should be on notice, however, that the government still seems to be sending some mixed messages with respect to how best to avoid being a target and what businesses should do when they receive information that suggests that they may be employing unauthorized workers. For example, while Secretary Napolitano indicated that participation in E-Verify will be a mitigating factor in causing ICE to avoid auditing a particular company, ICE officials stated that they are serving NOI to employers that are on E-Verify (in essence, not paying attention to E-Verify membership when choosing who to serve NOIs on).
In addition, the Symposium contained several enforcement panels where the subject of the use of the Social Security verification system, SSNVS, was discussed. Government speakers did not have consistent answers about how they recommend that a company uses SSNVS, and they also could not provide clear guidance about what to do when a company determines that no-matches exist. This is highly troubling for companies who are trying to navigate the murky environment left after the government rescinded its formal guidance in this area.
The federal government has an obligation to give clear guidance to employers. The inconsistencies posed at yesterday’s Symposium followed by 1,000 newly announced audits targeting businesses demonstrate the unclear signals employers continue to receive from the Administration.
As the former leadership team at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), our firm brings firsthand knowledge, judgment, and expertise to assist you if you receive a NOI or want to take steps today to ensure compliance. For more information on this issue please contact us: Julie Myers Wood at julie@iandcsolutions.com, Nick Smith at nick@iandcsolutions.com, or our company email at info@iandcsolutions.com.
** The information provided above is generalized and does not constitute legal advice. For particular advice tailored to your circumstances, please contact ICS. **
© Immigration and Customs Solutions 2009. All Rights Reserved.
For more information, visit us at www.iandcsolutions.com or call 1-877-577-7053.
