The Statutory Basis for These Actions
These actions are enforcement of IRCA, enacted to attempt to curtail illegal immigration. Designed to reform, update, and expand U.S. immigration law, IRCA made it unlawful for a person or an entity to knowingly hire, recruit, refer for a fee, or continue to employ unauthorized aliens. For the first time, IRCA required employers to verify that employees were authorized to work through the use of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9).
To address the fear that employers would discriminate against individuals who sounded or appeared “foreign,” IRCA also prohibited employers from discriminating against any individual (other than an unauthorized worker) in hiring and firing on the basis of national origin or citizenship status.
Failure to comply with IRCA’s provisions can result in significant civil and criminal penalties, injunctions, cease and desist orders, and negative publicity. Employers can face penalties for failing to properly complete, retain, and/or make available for inspection the I-9 form (even if the employee is found to be authorized to work); knowingly employing, or continuing to employ, unauthorized workers; engaging in unlawful immigration-related discrimination; and knowingly participating in document fraud.
IRCA provides for criminal sanctions when an employer is found to have engaged in “a pattern or practice” of knowingly hiring or retaining an unauthorized worker. Employers may face penalties up to $3,000 per unauthorized worker and/or up to six months of imprisonment. Employers are entitled to an administrative hearing before an administrative judge where the government must prove its allegations by a preponderance of the evidence. The administrative decision can be appealed.
The following are a summary of the monetary civil fines that can be imposed under IRCA for violations occurring after September 29, 1999:
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