Federal Government Announces More I-9 Investigations

Continuing the trend of increasing I-9 audits, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary John Morton announced on November 19 the issuance of Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 1,000 employers across the country. This round of inspections is focused on employers associated with “critical infrastructure.” The employers were selected based upon investigative leads and intelligence and because of the businesses’ connection to public safety and national security. While the names of the businesses were not released, it is suspected that employers based at or near airports, borders, military installations, and critical infrastructure facilities (such as power plants, chemical facilities, etc.) are likely targets. In the same press release, ICE indicated that its newly-implemented enforcement strategy initiated on April 30 has already resulted in 1,069 Form I-9 Inspections and Notices of Intent to Fine (NIF) totaling nearly $16 million.   

Note: This article was published in the November/December 2009 issue of The Employment Law Authority.