Worksite Enforcement
Effective worksite enforcement plays an important role in the fight against illegal immigration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has developed a comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy that promotes national security, protects critical infrastructure and targets employers who violate employment laws or engage in abuse or exploitation of workers.
An effective worksite enforcement strategy must address both employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, as well as the workers themselves. In worksite cases, ICE investigators adhere to high investigative standards, including the following:
- ICE will look for evidence of the mistreatment of workers, along with evidence of trafficking, smuggling, harboring, visa fraud, identification document fraud, money laundering and other such criminal conduct.
- ICE will obtain indictments, criminal arrests or search warrants, or a commitment from a U.S. Attorney's Office to prosecute the targeted employer before arresting employees for civil immigration violations at a worksite.
Critical Infrastructure Protection
In pursuing this strategy, ICE applies risk assessment principles to critical infrastructure and worksite enforcement cases in order to maximize the impact of investigations against the most significant threats and violators. For example, unauthorized workers employed at sensitive sites and critical infrastructure facilities—airports, seaports, nuclear plants, chemical plants and defense facilities—could pose serious homeland security threats. These investigations are given a higher priority.
Targeting Abusive or Exploitative Employers
Worksite enforcement investigations often involve egregious violations of criminal statutes by employers and widespread abuses. Such cases often involve additional violations such as alien smuggling, alien harboring, document fraud, money laundering, fraud or worker exploitation. ICE also investigates employers who employ force, threats or coercion (for example, threatening to have employees deported) in order to keep the unauthorized alien workers from reporting substandard wage or working conditions.
By uncovering such violations, ICE can send a strong deterrent message to other employers who knowingly employ illegal aliens.
Working with Employers
ICE also works with the private sector to educate employers about their responsibilities to hire only authorized workers and how to accurately verify employment eligibility. (Read more about the ICE IMAGE program.)
Recent News
2/5/2013 San Diego, CA ICE fines San Diego-area companies for hiring unlawful employees
12/6/2012 San Juan, PR 21 Puerto Rico companies become 'IMAGE' certified
12/4/2012 Wichita, KS Kansas company pleads guilty to knowingly accepting false documents to hire illegal alien as manager for McDonald's Wichita franchise
11/29/2012 South Bend, IN Indiana restaurant owners indicted for harboring illegal aliens
11/27/2012 Wilbraham, MA First western Massachusetts company partners with ICE
11/15/2012 Hartford, CT ICE fines Connecticut companies hiring unlawful employees
