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Seyfarth Synopsis: Following the wave of Notices of Inspection (NOI) at 77 Northern California businesses last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents are continuing to spread the cheer with NOIs targeting businesses in Southern California this week.  Serving NOIs throughout the greater Los Angeles area, the inspections appear industry agnostic.  The NOIs delivered by HSI agents and auditors notify businesses that they must produce their employees’ Forms I-9, Employment Eligibility Verifications within 72 hours.  The notices often include a list requesting additional company information and documents as well.

Local HSI offices are keeping ICE’s Deputy Director Thomas Homan’s promise of increasing its activities not just across the nation but more specifically targeting sanctuary cities and states like California.  It is important to note that businesses receiving the NOIs are not all within the service, manufacturing, agriculture, or traditional “infrastructure” sectors. Employers across industries should take a look at their Form I-9s and overall immigration compliance – the time to figure things out is not during the 72 hours after a NOI is issued.

Continue Reading California Continues to Shine Under ICE’s Spotlight

By Dawn M. Lurie and Alexander Madrak

True to its word, last week Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) at seventy-seven Northern California businesses. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents spread out across northern California, serving NOIs in Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose at the end of January. No employees or employers were arrested at the time; instead, HSI agents notified businesses that they are being audited and provided seventy-two hours to produce their employees’ Forms I-9, Employment Eligibility Verifications.

The worksite actions follow ICE’s Deputy Director Thomas Homan’s comments that ICE would increase its activities in California after designating itself an official sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants following the passage of AB 450. With Homan’s nomination to be the Director of ICE, these and other comments by Homan indicate ICE may very well follow through on its promises—both that enforcement will increase by “four to five times” this year and that California may bear a disproportionate brunt of the action.

Employers across industries should proactively prioritize addressing immigration compliance by:

  1. conducting careful internal assessments;
  2. conducting Form I-9 audits (with the assistance of competent counsel);
  3. reviewing and/or establishing procedures to ensure employees are prepared to deal with visits from ICE;
  4. creating and updating immigration compliance polices; and,
  5. providing training and resources in order to ensure the Form I-9 process is captured correctly.

Prioritizing immigration compliance today will prevent problems and minimize exposure tomorrow.

By: Dawn M. Lurie, Alexander Madrak and Greg Morano*

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued automatic extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries from Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, and most recently, El Salvador. Employers should be prepared to recognize these automatically extended EADs and correctly handle the resulting influx of Form I-9 updates.

What’s the Latest on TPS?

While the government is back in business, the path to immigration reform seems as tumultuous as ever. The chances to reverse the termination of TPS are slim, and the impact is slowly beginning to sink in for TPS beneficiaries and employers alike. An Immigration Forum Fact Sheet on TPS notes: “Recent data estimate that TPS holders from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti contribute a combined $4.5 billion in pre-tax wages or salary income annually to our nation’s gross domestic product.”

What Do Employers Need to Know?

Continue Reading Auto Extension Influx: Automatic Extension of El Salvador TPS EADs

  1. By: Mahsa Aliaskari

Update: At midnight the federal government shut down.  We will keep employers updated as details of immigration related closings and the negotiations in Congress become available.

Seyfarth Synopsis: As we wait to hear the fate of yet another temporary extension to continue funding the government after midnight on Saturday January 20th – employers should know how a shutdown may impact processing of immigration petitions and immigration programs.

Continue Reading Déjà vu – Government Shutdown and Impacts on Immigration

By: Dawn M. Lurie

Seyfarth Synopsis: “ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable.”  Referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) early morning raids at nearly a hundred franchisee convenience stores across the nation, the ensuing public comments from agency officials confirm that 2018 will be a year of increased immigration enforcement.  ICE investigations can result in the arrest of employers and employees and the imposition of large-scale fines; under the current Administration, though, it’s not only ICE that companies need to consider.  Following the “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order, a myriad of reinvigorated agencies that span all parts of the government have increased immigration-related oversight.  Employers should proactively prioritize addressing immigration compliance. 

Continue Reading Following a Long Thaw, ICE Returns with Increased Worksite Enforcement

Seyfarth Synopsis: As the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the administration generally, signals increases in immigration enforcement activity, businesses are advised to implement clear protocols for the conduct of key personnel in the event of a visit by a federal officer, particularly Special Agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”).   This guidance identifies the likely purposes of an ICE visit and sets forth critical steps for key personnel should such a visit occur.  Businesses are advised to work with legal counsel to tailor this general guidance to their specific industry and business processes.

In light of the Trump Administration’s promises of increased immigration enforcement, employers and employees are growing more concerned about the prospect of government worksite visits either to effectuate arrests or to conduct investigations and audits.  To be clear, the Department of Homeland Security’s (“DHS”) Immigration and Customs Enforcement  (“ICE”) agency has clarified that there has been no directive to initiate worksite enforcement (aka raids) against employers. Notwithstanding, it does appear that recent ICE arrests have swept not only individuals either alleged to have committed a crime or for whom an immigration warrant is outstanding, but also others accompanying the intended arrestee who are found to lack legal status in the U.S.

In addition to arrests, other investigative and audit activity looms on the horizon. Chatter continues about a possible increase in Form I-9 audits by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations Unit (HSI), and similar activity by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fraud Detection National Security Unit [1] as well as it’s E-Verify Monitoring and Compliance branch [2]. Additionally, the Department of Justice’s newly named Employee and Immigrant Rights Office (legacy Office of Special Counsel), will continue to pursue investigations into citizenship, national origin discrimination and document abuse matters. This Alert focuses on a visit by the folks at HSI, a separate Alert will be focused on USCIS site visits and investigative visits by other agencies.

Continue Reading Quick Guidance: What To Do In The Event of a Visit By The DHS-ICE Agents