Webinar: Employers Targeted in Immigration Crackdown: How to Audit Policies Before ICE Does
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On September 3, Hector A. Chichoni will be 
teaching the webinar Employers Targeted in Immigration Crackdown: How to Audit Policies Before ICE Does.
Hector has counseled employers on the proper use of the new I-9, work site enforcement, "no-match" problems, and compliance with state and federal immigration laws
Thursday, September 3, 2009
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern
10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Central
9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Mountain
8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Pacific
On July 1, 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed hundreds of U.S. businesses that agents would be auditing their I-9s and other hiring records. And just this April, the Obama administration issued new guidelines for ICE agents to change the enforcement focus to employers.
Learn what action you can take NOW to keep ICE from targeting your organization and your first course of action if your company is audited by participating in the all-new HR Hero audio conference, Employers Targeted in Immigration Crackdown: How to Audit Policies Before ICE Does.
Hector A. Chichoni will show you the specific red flags agents are looking for in ICE audits, as well as:
The tell-tale signs ICE may be targeting your organization
Your first recourse if enforcement agents arrive on site
The potential consequences when ICE agents audit your records
Typical fines and other actions immigration enforcement agents are taking against violators
Your legal options if fines are levied against your organization
Your first course of action if you have workers who can’t prove they’re authorized to work in the United States
How ICE's new audit strategy could impact whether E-Verify becomes mandatory for all employers
What employers can expect from future immigration compliance and enforcement initiatives
What every employer needs to know about immigration reform efforts
All receiving this information will be entitled to a 20% discount on the audio conference. To receive the discounted rate, you will need to call HR Hero customer service department at 800-274-6774 and mention code M899.
On July 31, 2008, the House approved "H.R. 6633" to extend E-Verify, the federal government's electronic employment verification system, by five years. In spite of the many signs previously given by U.S. Representatives approved without amendment, HR 6633 or the Employee Verification Act of 2008, 407-2. 
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to extend the life of the voluntary program five years to Oct. 31, 2013. U.S. representatives initially supported legislation to scrap E-Verify in favor of a new mandatory verification system, but according Giffords, she introduced a five-year extension to make time for more study of the current system. Further, Giffords told lawmakers during House floor remarks that "within five years or less, the federal government must develop a mandatory system that operates uniformly across all 50 states." Technically, the bill would 
authorize two Government Accountability Office studies about aspects of E-Verify. The first study would examine erroneous tentative nonconfirmations under E-Verify, specifically focusing on the causes of erroneous tentative nonconfirmations, processes to remedy errors, and the impact of such errors on individuals, employers, and federal agencies. The second study would analyze the effect of E-Verify on small businesses and other small entities using the program. That study would focus on the cost to small entities of complying with E-Verify, an estimate of the number of small businesses participating in E-Verify, an analysis of compliance requirements such as reporting and recordkeeping, and steps DHS can take to minimize the economic impact of participating in E-Verify. 
allow additional time to design a fair and effective employment verification system is a workable proposition for employees and employers alike. The bill now moves to the Senate, which is in recess until Sept. 8, 2008. 
The House subcommittee approved a bill that would allow the "recapture" of previously 
unused employment-based visas. The bill ("H.R. 5882"), introduced April 23 by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairman of the subcommittee, and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), was approved on July 31, 2008 during a markup session. Eight Democratic representatives approved the bill. The bill now moves to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. The objective of the bill is to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA") to recapture visas that were authorized between fiscal year 1992 and 2007, but went unused due to bureaucratic delays. The bill prevents visas from being lost in the future by rolling them over to the following fiscal year. The visa recapture applies to both employment-based visas and family-based visas. 
Rep. Lofgren stated that "H.R. 5882 is about ensuring that bureaucratic 
inefficiency and waste do not stand in the way of U.S. citizen families and businesses trying to use our immigration system in a legal way." The bill does not change the present number of available visas and does not add visas to caps. What the bill does is find visas lost due to "bureaucratic inefficiency." If the bill eventually becomes law, it would mean that approximately 557,000 additional or "lost" visas would be available for use. It would appear that a broad coalition supports the bill. Such law could have a very positive effect on Florida, but immigration reform would still be needed to affect its economy. 
On June 4, 2008, Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina signed into law an omnibus immigration bill (HR 4400), which requires employers to verify the identity of employees with either a South Carolina driver's license or through E-verify. This bill also denies non-emergency medical care for undocumented adult immigrants by state funded clinics and hospitals. One important issues is that because federal law requires that care be given without discrimination, local healthcare providers will be facing a significant challenge in following the law. In recognition of this challenge, perhaps, no state agency is tasked with enforcing the new restrictions. Further, the new law goes on to prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending public institutions of higher education or receiving state funded scholarships. One particular and concerning issue is that the chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is mandated to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the federal government (ICE) regarding enforcement of federal immigration law. The new law also also allows for law enforcement personnel to be deputized and trained for these duties. According to AILA, the bill contains similar language to Oklahoma's Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 (H.B. 1804). 
established a Web site to assist employers comply with the new immigration law. But the new law mandates the Labor Department to investigate complaints against companies who are hiring illegal immigrants. According to the new law, South Carolina's Labor Department is also responsible for randomly auditing businesses to verify employees’ legal status. Businesses with 100 or more employees must comply by July1, 2009 and all other businesses must follow the law by July 1, 2010. The new Web site is www.llr.state.sc.us/immigration. Georgia also has a similar law. Is Florida next?