Trump Forces Employers To Stop Turning Blind Eye To Illegal Workers

The Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement is forcing U.S. employers to stop turning a blind eye to the employment of illegal immigrants.

Since 1986, federal law has required businesses to verify the identity and work authorization of individuals they hire using Form I-9. After years of lax oversight, the federal government under President Donald Trump has started ramping up audits of businesses’ employment records, causing many companies to scramble to comply with immigration rules, according to the Financial Times.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has significantly increased its scrutiny of businesses’ employment verification records, requiring companies to produce I-9 forms and supporting documents within three days of receiving notification of an audit, according to the Financial Times. More than a dozen business leaders and their immigration attorneys told the outlet that they are in “I-9 hell” as they rush to find and correct mistakes on the forms in anticipation of a possible inspection.

In one of the more high-profile enforcement actions, ICE fined three businesses in Denver a combined $8 million in April for hiring over 100 unauthorized workers. In another case, a San Diego powder-coating company manager was sentenced to probation in June after pleading guilty to employing illegal immigrants, including three who were found living in a company warehouse where military components were being stored.