DHS to Focus on Prosecuting Employers Who Hire Illegal Workers

On April 30, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a shift in its workforce enforcement priorities from the prosecution of illegal aliens working in the United States to the prosecution of employers who knowingly hire them.  According to a fact sheet distributed by DHS, only 135 of 6,000 arrests related to worksite enforcement in 2008 were employers.  As a result, DHS issued new guidelines to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with instructions to immediately "focus its resources in the worksite enforcement program on the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers in order to target the root cause of illegal immigration."  Employers - defined in this context as hiring managers, management, owners, CEOs, supervisors and other occupational titles - can expect ICE offices to use their full authority when executing investigations such as the use of confidential sources, cooperating witnesses and undercover agents.  For more detailed information, click here or contact Denise Gold at (703) 837-5326 or goldd@agc.org.