At a glance
- U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) continues to maintain a dramatically increased
pace of worksite enforcement that began last year.
- Similar to FY 2018, the agency opened
almost 7,000 new workplace investigations in fiscal year (FY) 2019,
up from 1,691 in 2017 and 1,701 in FY 2016.
- Employers should have a comprehensive
immigration compliance plan in place to prepare for the possibility
of an ICE investigation.
The issue
Recent news reports confirm that in fiscal year (FY) 2019, U.S.
employers continued to face heightened scrutiny from Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the area of worksite enforcement.
According to statistics provided to The Wall
Street Journal, ICE initiated 6,812 new worksite
investigations during the last fiscal year, which ended on
September 30. Although the agency initiated 36 fewer cases than it
did in FY 2018, there were 5,000 more investigations in FY 2019
than there were in FYs 2017 and
