As the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration proceeds on numerous fronts, employers increasingly find themselves caught in the crosshairs. In fact, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that it commenced approximately twice as many worksite investigations and I-9 audits in the first seven months of FY2018 (which began on October 1, 2017)
Well, He Wrote Me a Letter: USCIS Provides Update on Initiatives under the “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order
In April 2017, three months after taking office, President Trump signed the “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order, which confirmed that his administration would be taking a tough stance on business immigration, including the nonimmigrant work visa programs used by many American employers. The Executive Order itself did not put into action
Trump’s Travel Ban Survives Latest Trip to the Supreme Court
News organizations this week are reporting again on President Trump’s so-called travel ban. But what exactly does that mean? We receive a lot of questions about the travel ban in the context of President Trump’s overall stance on immigration issues and how the travel ban affects visas and possible future employment of citizens from other
Getting a Green Card Just Got Tougher: USCIS Will Now Interview All Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applicants
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced a new policy requiring all adjustment of status applicants seeking employment-based green cards to appear for an interview at a USCIS field office. The adjustment of status application is the final step in the green card process for foreign non-immigrant employees looking to move to permanent
Calling ICE about Your Plaintiff Could Make You the Defendant
An attorney representing his employer-client calls Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to inquire about the plaintiff’s immigration status. Is that potentially retaliation under the employment laws? If it is, can the attorney be sued personally for it? According to the Ninth Circuit, the answer is yes on both counts, and the Supreme Court may have
The Demise of DACA – What It Means for Employers
The Trump administration has announced that it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has provided removal protection (i.e., from deportation) and temporary work permits to nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children. The move, which was opposed by many employers, ends speculation about the fate of the
New I-9 (And We Are Not Talking About Bingo) – Employers Must Use New Form Beginning September 18
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new version of the Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9 that employers will need to start using soon. As all employers know, the I-
9 is the form used to verify employee work authorization. Employers may begin using the new Form I-9 (revision date 07/17/17) immediately, although
Thawing the ICE: Using Internal Audits to Reduce Form I-9 Exposure
As the 100-day mark of President Trump’s tenure approaches, it’s clear that the new administration intends to take a tough, aggressive approach to immigration enforcement – and employers are sure to feel the heat. The President has already taken a number of measures designed to strengthen employer compliance with the H-1B and other legal work
ICE Could Come Knocking: Employers Should Be Prepared as Business Raids Increase
Employers– the chances that you could receive a visit from immigration officers have increased. Recently, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted “raids” at eight Asian restaurants in Mississippi—in Clinton, Flowood, Madison, Meridian, and Pearl. Fifty-five restaurant employees, all undocumented, were detained during the raids. According to one immigration advocate, enforcement raids have “blown
You Mean It’s Un-American to Hire Only Americans? DOJ Issues Final Rule on Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices
If you thought it would be safer to require every new hire to be an American citizen—think again. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has a new rule revising its prior regulations on Section 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits unfair immigration-related employment practices. This new rule, effective January