Some convenient stores and other business owners are about to find out. Today, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) descended on 7-11 stores nationwide to perform immigration audits and interviews with employees and store managers.
“Today’s actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable,” stated Thomas Homan, ICE’s acting director in a statement to CNN.
Is your business prepared for an ICE audit?
Businesses cannot avoid an immigration audit, but they can take steps to ensure they are prepared for one. Our team of experienced immigration attorneys can walk your business through the entire process of preparation to ensure you are ready should ICE seek an audit of your business. Should your business be selected for ICE audit, Peek Law Group will help your business navigate what to do and how best to work with ICE to ensure your business can continue to operate during the audit.
Is your business in I-9 Compliance?
As part of I-9 compliance, it is illegal to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. A failure to comply with I-9 compliance may result in fines, forfeiture of company assets, and potential imprisonment. Those businesses that fail to comply may be criminally prosecuted or fined anywhere from $375 to $16,000 per violation. A penalty for failing to provide a Form I-9 can range from $110-$1,100 per violation. Can your business afford these penalties?
I-9 requires that employers complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (Form I-9) to verify the employees’ identity and eligibility to work legally in the U.S. This form must be completed with 3 business days of the employee’s first day in the position and employers are required to maintain this form for all current employees. Employers are also required to maintain former employee’s documents for at least 3 years for the day of hire or 1 year after the employee is no longer employed.
What is E-Verify?
To confirm the information on the employee’s documentation is correct, many employers use an online tool called E-Verify. Although E-Verify is currently voluntary for most employers, those businesses who maintain federal contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause are required to participate in E-Verify. It is anticipated that all U.S. employers will be required to use E-Verify in the near future.
What should business owners do?
The simple answer is to hire an experienced immigration attorney. If your business is worried about risk and a potential immigration audit, then hiring an experienced immigration firm like Peek and Toland to help prepare your business for a potential immigration audit is essential.
Should your business be selected for an immigration audit, it is paramount to hire an immigration attorney to advise your business right away.Our experienced immigration attorneys are well-versed in all areas of I-9 compliance and ICE audits.
Our legal services include:
- Risk Assessment and Risk Avoidance
- Internal and Third Party I-9 Audits
- Reviewing and Correcting Mistakes on Existing I-9 Forms
- Government Investigations
- Internal Audits of Existing I-9 Forms
- Obtaining and Maintaining I-9 Forms
To learn more about Peek and Toland can help your business or company with ICE audits, I-9 compliance, or E-verify, please call us at 512-359-3362.