Not only will ICE be examining the companies' I-9 employment verification forms but also all payroll records, copies of immigration filings, copies of Social Security Administration communications, information on independent contractors, and related information.

The Notices of Inspection (NOIs) that will be dispatched will specify the range of documentation to be audited, as detailed above.

Personnel Concepts offers a comprehensive program to help companies stay in compliance with employment eligibility verification. Get your copy of our I-9 Compliance Kit today and keep ICE auditors away from your door.

The SSA temporarily stopped issuing the letters in 2009 when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under pressure from both unions and business groups, withdrew its Final Rule on how to deal with no-match letters.

The program was resumed on March 22.

Employers are now left to determine what to do in the absence of any guidance from the government when they receive no-match letters. The quandary becomes even worse when the SSA decides—as it often does—to turn over the names of the no-match individuals to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and/or to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

Another challenge: The recently revised M-274 Handbook for Employers issued by DHS makes no mention of how to respond to no-match letters, even though Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents routinely ask for no-match letters when they conduct Form I-9 audits.

Complicating matters more is the fact that these letters are often sent to the chief financial officer (CFO), a tax preparer, or even an outside accounting firm and not to the human resources department, which is responsible for I-9 employment verification.

The best defense is a good offense, so employers should ensure that their I-9 process is as thorough and error-free as possible. Then if a no-match letter arrives, that individual's I-9 form should be revisited, checked for human errors, and reverified—at the very least.

Fortunately, Personnel Concepts publishes a comprehensive guide to employment verification. Get your copy of our I-9 Compliance Kit today and be fully prepared for any audit or eventuality.

Co-CEO Monty Moran said: "We are surprised at what’s happened here because we are very careful about who[m] we hire, and we try to hire the very best people. For each person, we get all the required documents. And even after those reviews, we found that lo and behold, we’ve got a good number of people who apparently submitted documents which were in fact not authentic, despite the fact that they looked to be."

From fiscal year 2009 to date, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have initiated Form I-9 (employment eligibility verification) inspections against 3,769 businesses across the nation.

Don't get caught with undocumented workers during a surprise I-9 audit. Prepare carefully by getting your copy of Personnel Concepts'  I-9 Compliance Kit.

The first step in joining IMAGE is allowing ICE to conduct a full I-9 audit. The I-9 is a form that must be filled out and retained on all new hires that specifies the documents (passport, Social Security card, etc.) used to verify the new hires' legal status to work in the United States.

The next steps in the process, after certification into the program, are to establish a rigorous training program in I-9 administration and to pledge to use the E-Verify online verification system to further establish employees' right to work in the U.S.

The agreement was signed at ICE headquarters.

“We believe our participation in IMAGE confirms Tyson uses best hiring practices to maintain a lawful workforce,” Tyson human resources chief Ken Kimbro said. “We use all available tools provided by the U.S. government to verify the documents of the people we hire. We’ve also gone beyond government tools, spending millions of dollars over the years on such things as training, computer systems and help from outside consultants to make sure we’re employing people who are authorized to work in our country.”

For employers everywhere to retain legal workforces and keep ICE agents away from your doorsteps, Personnel Concepts offers both an I-9 Compliance Kit and an E-Verify Right to Work Notice Poster.

Under its new strategic plan for 2010-2016, OFCCP intends to focus on issues over which it has direct enforcement powers, which it did not with the form I-9.

Meanwhile, ICE officials have announced that they will be sending out 500 to 700 notices of inspection (NOI) during the next few weeks as the agency continues its wide sweep of auditing businesses for I-9 compliance.

All employers must complete and retain I-9 eligibility forms on all employees to prove that their workforce has the legal right to work in the United States. I-9 compliance is a serious matter, so visit Personnel Concepts’ Web section on I-9 Compliance today for a variety of forms, posters, and guidance manuals to ensure your adherence to the law.

“U.S. passport photo matching is another in the long line of enhancements we have made to improve the integrity of the E-Verify system,” said Director Mayorkas. “Adding U.S. passport photos expands our current photo matching efforts and will play a significant role in preventing and detecting the use of fraudulent documents—all part of major anti-fraud initiatives undertaken by the Department.

About 10 percent of new hires present passports when they undergo the required employment eligibility verification process based on the USCIS form 1-9. Employers can use the voluntary and free E-Verify system to help them complete the process and ensure its accuracy.

The Personnel Concepts Web site maintains a complete I-9 Compliance section, where you can find various kits and posters to ensure your adherence to the law.

ICE, the enforcement wing of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), no longer stages round-ups of suspected illegal immigrants at just farms, factories and car washes. Even white collar retailers such as Abercrombie and Fitch have been stung, with that clothing retailer being socked with a $1.04 million levy.

However, the focus is now completely different. No longer do armed ICE agents storm the premises and hog-collar suspected illegals. The target is now the human resources and accounting departments, where records are audited and compared, especially the USCIS employee eligibility form called the I-9.

When all is said and done, if there are undocumented employees on the payroll, the firm is fined, but ICE does not seize or attempt to deport the illegals. It is left to the employer to fire them, and if he doesn’t, he can face criminal charges.

Now here’s the scary part: Anything uncovered during the visit will be shared with other federal agencies. Thus an employer could be fined for hiring undocumented workers, and then he could be audited by the IRS, visited by OSHA, or sued by the Department of Labor (DOL) for wage, hour and overtime violations

Employers, protect yourself. Obtain a copy of Personnel Concepts’ I-9 Compliance Kit today.

Affected businesses were given three business days to prepare for the inspection, so the audits should already be under way.

Fines for uncorrected technical and substantive errors on the forms range from $110 to $1,100 per form. Higher fines apply for intentional or known employment of unauthorized workers.

Personnel Concepts maintains a complete I-9 Compliance section on its Web site to help employers stay in compliance and avoid the fate of these 500 businesses.

The answer –it is a big deal–has been driven home forcefully to management at Columbia Farms in Columbia, S.C.

After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in 2008 discovered hundreds of illegal immigrants working at the poultry plant, most of the workers were deported, dozens of others were tried and sentenced to jail time for using fake documents, and two of the farms’ managers were criminally charged.

The two managers escaped the noose, so to speak, when the company recently agreed to a $1.5 million plea agreement that will require the accused to undergo training. The company itself, in agreeing to reform its hiring practice to legal standards and enroll in the E-Verify program, also must hire an on-site compliance officer and contract with an external auditing firm to monitor its employment practices.

The I-9 form from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is required of all new hires and is used to verify their legal status to work in the United States through the submission of identifying documents. E-Verify is a voluntary online program that can be used to check people’s records at the Social Security Administration and USCIS to verify their right to work in the states.

In short, the I-9 process is an important one. Fortunately, Personnel Concepts has developed a comprehensive I-9 Compliance Kit to help employers and human resource personnel maintain proper I-9 verifications. It is a big deal.

ICE hit the jackpot recently when it inspected Houston’s IFCO Systems, the nation’s largest manufacturer of pallets. Inspectors found 1,000 employees who were not authorized to work in the U.S., and IFCO was hit with a $20.7 million fine.

This approach is the reversal of the Bush-era ICE methodology when companies were raided and the illegal workers rounded up and sent off for deportation hearings. Now it’s the employers who are being targeted and fined.

“Employment is the primary driving force behind illegal immigration,” a DHS statement said. “By working with employers to ensure a legal workplace, ICE is able to stem the tide of those who cross our borders illegally or unlawfully remain in our country to work.”

The DHS statement said ICE would base upcoming investigations on tips from the public, reports from current and former employees and referrals from other law enforcement agencies. “ICE does not randomly target employers,” the statement said. “All investigations and arrests are based on specific intelligence obtained from a variety of sources.”

Though ICE is not directly raiding workforces, it reaffirmed its commitment to prosecuting and eventually deporting those who are found to be here illegally.

Employers, the rules and form for verifying your employees’ eligibility to work in the United States have both changed. Stay current–and in legal compliance–by picking up a copy of Personnel Concepts’ I-9 Compliance Kit.