Latest news with #FormI-9
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wisconsin immigrant work; what to know among rising deportations
The Brief Undocumented workers do an estimated 70% of the work on Wisconsin's dairy farms. White House border czar Tom Homan said the country could see more workplace immigration actions than ever before. All United States employers and their new hires must fill out a Form I-9, proving they are legally able to work with required government documents. WISCONSIN - Gov. Tony Evers said he's worried about the growing push for deportations, while the Trump administration said it's restoring the rule of law. What we know White House border czar Tom Homan said the country could see more workplace immigration actions than ever before, saying these undocumented people have no right to be in the United States. "We're gonna increase the teams greatly, so you're gonna see more teams on the streets you've never seen before. You're gonna see more work site enforcement than you've ever seen in the history of this nation," Homan said. "If we can't find them in the community, we're going to find them at the work site. So we're going to flood the zone and sanctuary cities will get exactly what they don't want: more agents in their neighborhoods, more work site enforcement, because we're going to get the bad guy." Local perspective This is not just worrying Evers, but some Wisconsin farmers. Undocumented workers do an estimated 70% of the work on Wisconsin's dairy farms, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Workers study. "I don't know who the hell is going to milk the cows," Evers said. "So I'm fearful [...] if it's suddenly people who are not appropriately documented who are waiting to be documented, and they're picked up because they don't have a document, and that makes them a criminal, that's just bulls—, frankly." FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android The Dairy State has about 70,000 undocumented immigrants, and about 47,000 of them are working, per the Migration Policy Institute's 2019 estimates. "It's certainly something that is a fear of many farmers across the state that have hispanic labor, immigrant labor," Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden said. "We all have the knowledge that most of our workers are documented, and we shouldn't be having an issue, but what happens when the ice enforcement agents show up and want to go after more people than those who have criminal records?" All United States employers and their new hires must fill out a Form I-9, proving they are legally able to work with required government documents. "All of this needs to be done in the first three days of employment," said Brook Mayborne, Metro Milwaukee Society of Human Resource Management president-elect. It's a felony to use a fake ID for this – and if someone doesn't have the documents within those three days? "They should be taken off the schedule. They shouldn't be allowed to work until they're able to produce it. That does happen quite a bit, where they're not able to show their documentation," Mayborne said. "The paperwork is retained with the employer. They must retain it for at least three years or for the duration of employment. It's kept on file in case of any questions or audits or things like that." It's not just the immigrant at risk of deportation, but employers can also face fines and even prison. Dig deeper So, when employers are checking papers in the U.S., there are two primary categories of visas: non-immigrant visas and immigrant visas. The purpose of the non-immigrant visa is temporary stay in the U.S., which means the holder is expected to leave the U.S. when the visa expires. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Examples include business visas and student visas, as well as visas for crime victims and human trafficking victims. With a non-immigrant visa, there's no intent to immigrate. So applicants have to prove they plan to return to their home country when their visa expires. The purpose of an immigrant visa is to obtain permanent residence in the U.S. that leads to green card status, or lawful permanent resident status. Examples include family-based immigration, like the spouse of a U.S. citizen, employment-based immigration and diversity visas. The Source The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Immigration officials issue more than 100 Notice of Inspections at DC area businesses
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said dozens of notices have been served to D.C. area businesses and employers by immigration officials. This comes after flyers began circulating on social media over the weekend, alerting people to increased immigration and homeland security enforcement activity around D.C. Immigrant advocacy organizations offer advice amid reports of increased immigration enforcement in DC A DHS spokesperson told DC News Now that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have been conducting 'worksite enforcement' across the country to ensure businesses follow immigration and employment laws. 'This includes recent worksite enforcement operations [in] the D.C. area, during which more than 100 Notice of Inspections were served to local employers at various [businesses]. No arrests were made as part of these worksite enforcement operations,' DHS wrote in a statement. The Washington Post reportedly confirmed officials' visits to seven restaurants in the District on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), employers will generally receive a Notice of Inspection at least three days before an inspection, during which DHS officials and employees from the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) at the Department of Justice and employees from the Department of Labor may inspect the business owner's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Trump announces two new national holidays, including one on Veterans Day When officials arrive for inspection, the employer must do the following, CIS stated: Retrieve and reproduce electronically stored Form I-9 and any other documents the officer requests. Provide the officer with the necessary hardware and software to inspect electronic documents. Provide the officer with any existing electronic summary of the information recorded on the employer's Form I-9. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Justice Department sues Illinois over law hindering federal immigration efforts
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — The United States Department of Justice is suing Illinois over a workplace privacy law it claims interferes with federal immigration authority. The DOJ filed the suit in the Northern District of Illinois, claiming the Right to Privacy in the Workplace, which went into effect on January 1st, 2025, prevents the enforcement of federal employment verification through the E-Verify program. The suit names the state of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Labor, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul as defendants. Attorney General Pam Bondi said, 'Any state that incentivizes illegal immigration and makes it harder for federal authorities to do their job will face legal consequences from this Administration.' The E-Verify program allows employers to know if a prospective employee is legally eligible to work in the U.S. It was enacted in 2003. The system compares information from a worker's I-9 form to Social Security and Homeland Security records. 'The United States has preeminent authority to regulate the administrative processes governing Form I-9 documentation and inspection, and E-Verify,' the DOJ wrote. 'Illinois, therefore, has no authority to enforce laws that obstruct or otherwise conflict with federal immigration enforcement efforts by imposing additional regulations, requirements, and possible sanctions on employers that seek to participate in the federal 'E-Verify' program.' to Illinois' law prevent employers from firing an employee if their information doesn't match. The suit claims the Illinois workplace privacy law 'stand(s) as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress—to root out unauthorized employment and to encourage an employer's voluntary participation in E-Verify.' 'Not only are these fines inconsistent with federal law, but such advance notice requirements could prompt an alien employee to not show up to work on the day of inspection or avoid detection by immigration authorities,' the lawsuit says. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Epoch Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
DOJ Alleges Illinois Workplace Privacy Law Infringes Federal Immigration Authority
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on May 1 that it has filed a complaint against Illinois and its Department of Labor, alleging that the state's Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act interferes with federal immigration authority. The 'Any state that incentivizes illegal immigration and makes it harder for federal authorities to do their job will face legal consequences from this Administration,' Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a The DOJ said the state law includes provisions that complicates the use of E-Verify and deter employers from using the system in their hiring process. E-Verify is a federal program that allows employers to electronically confirm the employment eligibility of a job applicant. Senate Bill 508, which took effect on Jan. 1, states that employers in Illinois 'shall not voluntarily enroll' in the E-Verify program unless legally required, according to a It also requires employers to notify employees of any inspections of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms, which are used to verify an employee's identity and ability to work in the country, within 72 hours of receiving the inspection notice. Related Stories 4/30/2025 4/26/2025 This notification requirement, the DOJ said in its complaint, could cause an employee who is working illegally in Illinois to skip work on the day of inspection or to 'abscond indefinitely' to avoid detection by immigration authorities. The complaint states that Illinois's law 'discourages the use of E-Verify, frustrates innovation of employment eligibility verification, and obfuscates E-Verify and Form I-9 inspection requirements by adding layers of protection for employees and imposing onerous and confusing notice requirements for Illinois employers beyond those required' under the federal immigration law. The DOJ said the state's rules violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws designed to combat the employment of illegal aliens in the country, and asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction to block Illinois from enforcing some provisions. The Epoch Times has reached out to the Illinois Department of Labor for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. The complaint follows The complaint contends that by refusing to honor civil detainers and warrants authorized by Congress, Illinois and Chicago have effectively dismantled key mechanisms needed by federal immigration officials to carry out their duties. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker 'We need to get rid of the violent criminals, but we also need to protect people, at least the residents of Illinois and all across the nation, who are just doing what we hope that immigrants will do,' Pritzker said. Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘I can't find any help': Employers scramble to solve worker shortages caused by immigration crackdowns
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter. President Donald Trump's statement in an April 15 Fox Noticias interview that his administration would 'work with' undocumented immigrants who self-deport from the country and return them to the U.S. 'if they're good, if we want them back in,' has not assuaged employers' staffing concerns amid immigration crackdowns, employer-side attorneys told HR Dive. Trump might need to work with Congress to pass legislation in order to create such a program, said Bruce Buchanan, senior counsel at Littler Mendelson. Even if that were possible, he noted it is not clear how undocumented workers who are currently weighing the option of whether to leave the country would react to such a program. 'The concern always with this president is he says things, but is there any action behind it? Is someone drafting legislation that will put this in place? Or is he just using it as an incentive for people to leave?' Buchanan said. 'As they say, the devil's in the details, and we didn't get a whole lot of details.' Trump's remarks signaled a potential addendum to an immigration enforcement agenda that is set to ramp up, featuring more frequent audits of paper and electronic Form I-9s by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as increased worksite visits. The president has said that these moves are essential to enforcing immigration laws. But the pattern of enforcement operations may chill employers' talent operations. Mary Pivec, attorney at Pivec & Associates PLLC, told HR Dive that the Trump administration's targeting of foreign scientists, engineers and students teaching and studying in U.S. universities and laboratories would discourage key talent from migrating to the U.S. 'If the U.S. makes it impossible for people to live and work here, they will go elsewhere,' Pivec said. 'Why stay here and be persecuted? Why have your children be subject to searches and seizures, or have your phone seized at an airport to see whether you're saying anything negative about this administration? It's going to be a drain on the talented people that we want here.' In an email following up on Trump's April 15 remarks, Pivec told HR Dive that Trump's statement did not change the on-the-ground talent issues employers face. 'Ad hoc 'fixes' floated by the President don't begin to address the labor shortages that exist and can only get worse as Trump's 'mass deportation' campaign continues to play out,' she wrote. Trump's enforcement efforts already presented employers with a need to scrutinize their Form I-9 compliance, including electronic Form I-9 programs provided by vendors. But the knock-on effect of the administration's enforcement posture is that it has made employers hesitant to hire foreign workers, Chris Thomas, partner at Holland & Hart, said in an interview. Employers can't discriminate against employees who are foreign-born, Thomas said, but 'they are at least a little more wary of their onboarding processes to ensure they properly screen the documentation of the I-9 process.' Despite the administration's aggressive enforcement plans — the Republican Party's 2024 campaign platform called for the largest deportation program in American history — permit applications for work authorization remained elevated entering 2025, suggesting that immigrant workers continued to contribute to labor supply growth, according to a Brookings Institution analysis of USCIS data. 'Even so, all of this chaos is rattling both employers and employees.' Chris Thomas Partner, Holland & Hart That trend could be constrained, in part, by the Trump administration's partial termination of Temporary Protected Status designations for Haitians and Venezuelans. These changes caused 'panic' among employers, Thomas said, though a federal judge enjoined in March the administration's action with respect to Venezuela designees. Other programs have been targeted as well, such as the categorical parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans and their immediate family members. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security terminated these programs — created during the Biden administration — in March. A federal judge stayed parole termination notices sent to program participants in April, but the agency has nonetheless said no new parole requests will be processed. Trump's targeting of international students is multifaceted. Thomas noted that the administration sought to revoke F-1 visas with Optional Practical Training, a category that allows students to seek temporary employment directly related to their areas of study for up to 12 months. But this specific action has been slowed by federal courts, Thomas said in a follow-up email, meaning that student and OPT workers may continue to remain in the county, work where authorized and even apply for programs like the H-1B visa category in the long term. DHS also reportedly began to reinstate the records of some international students whose records the agency terminated, according to Bloomberg Law. 'Even so, all of this chaos is rattling both employers and employees,' Thomas said in the email. 'Many employees in these categories have simply given up and returned abroad. Employers are also dealing with the uncertainty of a workforce, even if those employees have received temporary reprieves, that may not be able to continue in their current positions.' While the battle over immigrants' legal status advances, employers are advised to begin the process of finding employees who are authorized to work, Buchanan said. But the reaction he has heard from many clients 'usually is, 'I can't find any help.'' The search, especially for smaller employers, is so extensive that it has caused some to turn to family members for help. One of Buchanan's clients hired his daughter, a high school student, and others have enlisted aunts, uncles and cousins, even if only on a temporary basis. Seeing the potential talent effects of immigration, states may decide to act. In Florida, Republican lawmakers introduced a bill, SB 918, that would remove state work restrictions for minors ages 16 and 17 as a response to the loss of immigrant workers. Among other provisions, the bill would eliminate restrictions prohibiting 16- and 17-year-olds from working more than 8 hours a day on school nights and more than 30 hours during school weeks. 'I'm not sure that's the long-term solution for all states, but at least it's been proposed,' Buchanan said. Sign in to access your portfolio
