ICE Director, John Morton
Tracker participated in the Second Annual Worksite Immigration Compliance Symposium which took place at Stanford Law School’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance on April 20th, 2012. This Symposium featured many of the top authorities and influencers in Form I-9 worksite compliance, for an insightful day of panel discussions on best practices in compliance and auditing, enforcement and penalties, IMAGE participation, and more.
Today’s post is an introduction to as series of future articles that will share details from some of the key discussions in this Symposium. Here is a quick overview of the discussion points that we will cover in greater detail in the coming weeks:
Executive Ethical Compliance Training
Featuring Charles H. Kuck (Partner, Kuck Immigration Partners LLC) and Carl Hampe (Partner, Baker & McKenzie) and moderated by Charles M. Miller, (Principal, Miller Law Offices, and Co-author of Immigration Compliance Auditing for Lawyers), this panel addressed the keys to managing a successful and ethical compliance program, developing I-9 policies, manuals, and training, and private external auditing. Their discussion covered the things all I-9 administrators must know, using a complete compliance audit as a best practice to avoid liability exposure, the steps to follow for proper remediation, and the essentials of how to do a private audit.
Updates on the IMAGE Program
Sharon Mehlman (Partner, Larrabee, Mehlman, Albi and Coker, LLP) and Adam Wilson, Unit Chief, IMAGE, DHS, ICE) provided an update on the IMAGE program, the Penalty Assessment Policy, the Memorandum of Understanding, and details on the private audit and IMAGE membership. Moderated by S. Christopher Stowe, Jr. (Law Office of S. Christopher Stowe, Jr., Executive Director of Homeland Security Compliance Council and Co-author Immigration Compliance Auditing for Lawyers), this session clarified what an IMAGE audit looks like, leniency towards companies undergoing an IMAGE audit, and recommendations for conducting internal audits.
ICE Worksite Enforcement Policies & Programs
Rachel Ross (Section Chief of the Employer Compliance Inspection Center, Worksite Enforcement Unit Office of Investigations (ECIC), DHS, ICE) and Paul Virtue (Partner, Baker & McKenzie and former INS General Counsel) discussed the current basis for ICE policies. This session provided information on the INS Virtue Memorandum on Technical errors versus Substantive violations, planned changes to the ECIC, recommendations about Self Auditing procedures, and a discussion on the government’s position on electronic I-9 systems.
Immigration Compliance Requirements
Rachel Ross (ECIC) and Jennifer Sultan (Acting Special Policy Counsel, Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, Â Department of Justice) discussed best practices for large corporations, including their biggest tips on how to avoid fines and discrimination charges, OSC guidance for acting on No Match letters, documentation best practices, and preventing issues that would appear to constitute “constructive knowledge” or a pattern of practice.
Keynote Speaker, ICE Director John Morton
John Morton (Director, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security) was on-hand as the luncheon’s keynote speaker. Director Morton gave a history and background of ICE. He expressed the importance of employers adhering to proper hiring practices (warning that ICE will conduct 3,000 I-9 inspections this year. He also explained the benefits of participating in the IMAGE program (ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers).
Look forward to more details
There was such a substantial windfall of information from this symposium, we look forward to sharing the insights from these discussions in our upcoming posts.
Disclaimer: The content of this post does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.
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