Immigration Impact: Recognizing And Reducing Liability In Corporate I-9 Procedures

2012 was a record year for Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the agency charged with I-9 enforcement. In 2012, HSI commenced 3,004 I-9 investigations and completed 495, charging $12,475,575 in administrative fines. HSI also arrested 520 persons in conjunction with these investigations, including 240 business owners, managers, supervisors and human resources employees, all charged with harboring and knowingly hiring undocumented workers. The remainder were foreign national employees, charged with social security fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Discrimination has also been extremely active in suing employers for national origin discrimination and document abuse. In a June 2013 action, a large national retailer was required to pay $175,000 in fines and set aside $100,000 in a back-pay fund for employees who were unlawfully terminated