Controversial ICE Quotas
April 30th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Photo Credit: Sarah L. Vois, Washington Post
Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), the government agency responsible for, “protecting the security of the American people and homeland by vigilantly enforcing the nation’s immigration and customs laws,” has received some negative attention lately.
First, the raids, which have been going for years, have dramatically increased as ICE has received increased funding year after year, and taken enforcement programs to a whole new level. Second, last week, the Washington Post reported that U.S. Immigration authorities have set controversial new quotas for agents. According to the article, “In a Feb. 22 memo, James M. Chaparro, head of ICE detention and removal operations, wrote that, despite record deportations of criminals, the overall number of removals was down. While ICE was on pace to achieve ‘the Agency goal of 150,000 criminal alien removals’ for the year ending Sept. 30, total deportations were set to barely top 310,000, ‘well under the Agency’s goal of 400,000,’ and nearly 20 percent behind last year’s total of 387,000, he wrote.” Although ICE clarified its position through a released statement in response to the Washington Post article, many people were extremely alarmed that the government agency is simply going after easy targets instead of targeting dangerous criminals.
Almost everyday, a new raid takes place somewhere in America. Unauthorized workers, along with their employers are arrested and held criminally liable. With increased ICE enforcement, all companies, small and large, should be proactive about protecting their business’ interests. Business owners and human resource managers can avoid becoming an easy target of ICE by:
- Staying up-to-date on employer responsibilities, including Form I-9 requirements for ALL employees, not just foreign workers.
- Contacting an experienced outside firm for an audit of I-9 Forms. All I-9 Forms must be in order and completed correctly. Full compliance must be the goal.
- Training your HR staff to properly complete I-9 Forms.
- Creating strong compliance policies within your company and sticking to them.
If you have further questions regarding I-9 self-audits, I-9 training, compliance policies, or questions relating to a specific situation contact GoffWilson.
