A man sentenced today to 10 years in state prison for identity theft and drug violations was in possession of employment eligibility documents for dozens of people when he was arrested, court records show.

Tuan Quoc Nguyen, 30, pleaded guilty July 28 to five felonies and three misdemeanors relating to drug possession, possession with intent to sell, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, and receiving stolen property.

That stolen property included 70 original federal Employment Eligibility Verification forms, also known as I-9s, according to a search warrant served in June 2008.

Authorities were never able to determine whether the I-9 forms came from a human resources department at a company, a leak at a government agency, a document fencing ring, or another source.

Court Rules Federal Contractors Must Use E-Verify Beginning September 8, 2009

Today, a U.S. District Court issued a long-awaited decision in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Napolitano; a case in which SHRM, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Council on International Personnel, HR Policy Association, and Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., challenged the legality of a Bush Administration Executive Order requiring that federal contractors use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees, as well as all current employees directly working on a contract.

SHRM and the other plaintiffs challenged the legality of Executive Order 13465 and its implementing regulations arguing that it was neither legally justified nor practical for federal contractors to implement. Unfortunately, the court discounted the plaintiffs’ arguments deciding the case in favor of the government and ruling that the regulation should go forward.

In the wake of the court’s ruling, SHRM is reviewing its public policy options. However, absent an additional delay, the rule is scheduled to go into effect on September 8, 2009. This deadline means that most federal contracts awarded, as well as solicitations issued after September 8, 2009, must include a clause mandating use of E-Verify for all employees hired during the contract period and all existing employees assigned to perform work under the contract. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published information and frequently asked questions on its website regarding application of the rule.

In order to help prepare members for implementation of the rule, SHRM is developing a compliance webcast which will be available soon. Information about the webcast will be distributed as soon as a date is selected.

DHS' decision to disregard no-match letters and focus on E-Verify alone to drive compliance is nonsensical. Employers who are on E-Verify and participating in IMAGE generally do not receive no-match letters. With E-Verify participation, employers resolve most no-matches when a new employee starts working. Instead, employers who are not on E-Verify receive the majority of the no-match letters. And, E-Verify and IMAGE are generally voluntary programs (except for federal contractors and those mandated by state laws). DHS is essentially conceding that they are going to focus on the employers that need the least scrutiny, and ignore useful information that will help DHS target the next IFCO.

Where does this leave well-intentioned employers? Without guidance on no-match letters, and without assurance that voluntary participation in government programs such as E-Verify will give them any protection. To the contrary, DHS is increasing audits of E-Verify employers, and targeting those employers for potential enforcement action. And perhaps worst of all, well-intentioned employers heard loud and clear from the administration, "never mind what the egregious employers are up to, it's you who should be concerned." Where's the justice, or logic for that matter, in that?

Today, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland heard oral arguments in the E-Verify Federal Contractor lawsuit (Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. Michael Chertoff, et al). As previously reported, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several other organizations filed a federal lawsuit in December last year, challenging the legality of President Bush’s Executive Order and the FAR (Federal Acquisition Council) regulations requiring federal contractors and sub-contractors to use E-Verify. Today’s hearing gave both parties an opportunity to argue on pending motions before the Court. Sources indicate that the judge is expected to issue a ruling on the case within the next week.

If the judge rules in favor of the government, DHS has indicated that it will implement the rule on September 8, 2009. Once in effect, federal contracting officials are instructed to insert the “E-Verify clause” in all new contracts awarded with a performance period longer than 120 days and a value above $100,000.

The Wall Street Journal reports that DHS will "intensify" its enforcement efforts against employers around the US:

John Morton, the new chief of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, said that the agency is set to increase the number of companies it will audit and systematically impose fines on violators. Violations could also lead to criminal charges, he said.

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"You are going to see audits regularly and on a larger scale," Mr. Morton said during a two-day visit to southern California, his first since being appointed four months ago. "You will see the resuscitation of...civil fines."

My buddy Tom Roach, an immigration lawyer in Pasco, Washington, is worried about the impact on agricultural employers in his area:

Tom Roach, an immigration attorney in Pasco, Wash., said that apple, cherry and grape growers in his area are panicking over the new crackdown.

Few industries have come so close to admitting they cannot survive without the labor of illegal immigrants as agriculture. At least half of the 1.8 million crop workers in the U.S. are undocumented.

Mr. Roach said a client who received a notification of inspection from ICE last month could face thousands of dollars in fines. "There is a ton of counterfeit documents out there. The employer does exactly what he is supposed to do, but he can still get in trouble," he said.

OFFICERS OF BELLINGHAM ENGINE COMPANY PLEAD GUILTY TO FELONY IMMIGRATION VIOLATIONS
Pair Admits they Allowed Company to Submit False Immigration Forms on Employees

The E-Verify and SAVE systems will be unavailable due to systems maintenance on Sunday August 16, 2009, from 10 AM to 6 PM ET.

We regret any inconvenience.

The groups plan to send a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

The organizations said:

• Mandatory verification should be limited only to newly hired employees.
• Contractors should be protected against having to assume excess liability for their subcontractors.
• Exceptions should be made for contracts that don’t meet a certain threshold for expense and length of performance.
• States and localities shouldn’t be allowed to put in place different requirements on federal contractors that use E-Verify.

Jennifer Kerber, TechAmerica’s vice president for federal and homeland security policy, said her organization supports an online, workable employment verification system. However, Kerber said, “We have concerns with the scalability of the system. We have concerns that right now I can bring you someone else’s document and be employed whether that’s me or not.”

What we are doing is smart and I think very effective enforcement. . . . If all you do is a set of raids and you pick up employees and you have a press conference -- but the employer is left or the corporate entity is left to simply sit still for a little bit and go back into the illegal labor market and continue making money and exploiting that market -- then you really haven't done very much in terms of a deterrent aspect. The guidance has been shifted to really . . . work with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to build prosecutable cases against employers who deserve prosecution and also to increase the use of I-9 audits so that folks know out there that we are paying attention. . . . That is classic law enforcement. Classic law enforcement is that you punish but you also deter and that was not happening. . . . With the changes we have made, we will have a much bigger impact on the illegal labor demand side.

Legislation that would require Rhode Island employers to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure that new hires are eligible to work in this country, thought to be dead after the state Senate recessed in June without voting it out of committee, might still have a chance to become law when the General Assembly reconvenes next month. Woonsocket Sen. Marc Cote, the sponsor of the Senate bill said he expects to meet next week with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael McCaffrey to work out a way to make the bill acceptable to Senate leaders. The bill passed the House in 2007 and 2008, only to die in the Senate, and passed again earlier this year.