The measures are being considered in Lake Elsinore, Menifee and Hemet.

The county joins three others in Washington State in adopting such a measure.

From the Marin (CA) Independent Journal:

TONIGHT, the Novato City Council will make an important decision: whether to adopt an E-Verify initiative, go to a vote in 2011, or reject the ordinance due to legal issues.

This decision has been forced on them by residents angry at the federal government for not adequately addressing immigration. It would force Novato to take on a task that will burden our businesses with increased costs and complexity at a time when they are struggling. It would cost the city tax dollars through loss of businesses, increased staff work and enforcement it cannot afford - and, I believe, impact Novato's reputation.

The city is struggling with a major budget deficit and is considering a November half-cent sales tax ballot measure to avoid making more onerous cuts in services and to help ensure we keep our police on the job, the senior center open and children's activities alive.

This proposed ordinance, posited as a "Lawful Hiring Compliance Initiative," serves only to distract and divide at a time when we need to focus on pulling together. The city's contractors already are bound by law to hire legally.

This ordinance imposes unacceptable costs, risks and liabilities on both businesses and the city, could lead to the city being the target of lawsuits, and will do nothing to address the problem of unauthorized workers.

The initiative will require over 280 contractors with $5,000 or more of business with the city to implement a 65-page "E-Verify Users Manual for Employers," and verify "each new employee with E-Verify, even if that employee will not perform work in the city of Novato."

Tracker I-9 reports:

Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made public its 5-year strategic plan for FY 2010-14, which lays out the agency’s priorities on three homeland security missions: (1) preventing terrorism and enhancing security; (2) securing and managing our borders; and (3) enforcing and administering our immigration laws.

Looking more closely at the document, it becomes clear that one of ICE’s top objectives is to continue its worksite enforcement program and hold employers accountable for their hiring practices. The following excerpt from page five of the document details ICE’s stated efforts to address illegal employment and “Create a Culture of Employer Compliance:”

The opportunity to work in the United States motivates many to seek illegal entry. Therefore, enforcing the immigration-related employment laws is a critical component of border security. To create a culture of compliance among employers, ICE will use the following two-pronged strategy: (1) aggressive criminal and civil enforcement against those employers who knowingly violate the law; and (2) continued implementation of programs, such as E-Verify and ICE’s IMAGE program, to help employers comply. Criminal investigations will increasingly focus on employers who abuse and exploit workers or otherwise engage in egregious conduct. To support a meaningful civil audit program, ICE will hire additional auditors and centralize some auditing functions. Through the “I E-Verify” campaign, ICE will work with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to increase public support for companies that use compliance tools. Finally, ICE will seek better statutory tools to address illegal employment.

Sholom Rubashkin, the plant manager for Agriprocessors, the meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, was sentenced yesterday to 27 years in prison in relation to the raid in 2006 that led to the deportation of hundreds of workers..

Voters in meatpacking town Freemont, Nebraska have passed a referendum that bars the hiring of illegally present immigrants and also bars renting property to them. The referendum passed with 57% of the vote. Freemont joins Farmington, Texas and Hazleton, Pennsylvania in passing similar laws and, like those communities, is likely to have to defend the measure in court. Ordinance 5165 reads as follows:

"Shall the City of Fremont, Nebraska, enact proposed Ordinance No. 5165, amending the Fremont Municipal Code to prohibit the harboring of illegal aliens or hiring of unauthorized aliens, providing definitions, making provision for occupancy licenses, providing judicial process, repealing conflicting provisions, and establishing an effective date for this ordinance?"

From Tracker:

Recently, USCIS announced the release of a redesigned Permanent Resident
Card (Form I-551), also commonly referred to as the “Green Card,” as well as a
revised Employment Authorization Document (EAD or Form I-766). While USCIS began issuing the new EAD and Green Cards in May 2010, please note that previously issued EAD and Green Cards already in circulation remain valid until their expiration date.

USCIS has stated that the changes to both documents seek to provide enhanced security features and discourage immigration fraud. As you can see in the sample images below, the backside of the EAD now has a machine-readable zone that replaced the two-dimensional bar code while the front of the EAD card appears to be unchanged. The changes to the Green Card are comprehensive as the document underwent a complete redesign. In addition to the official announcement unveiling the new Green Card (here) and EAD (here), USCIS has also published a Green Card Fact Sheet and FAQ that go into more detail about the changes.

For I-9 purposes, Employers will want to become familiar with the new EAD and Green Card as both are acceptable List A Documents that establish identity and employment authorization.

From Tracker:

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives overwhelmingly
passed two proposals (House Bills 1502 and 1503) that would require certain
Pennsylvania employers to verify the employment eligibility of construction
and contracted public workers via the E-Verify or Social Security
Number Verification Services (NVS) systems.

One bill pertains to public works contractors and their subcontractors
doing business with the State and would require verification of their
workers’ employment eligibility either through E-Verify (for new hires) or
NVS (for existing employees). The companion bill carries the same employment verification requirements for private-sector construction companies “whether or not the work is for a public body or paid for from public funds.” Both bills offer protection to employees who report or participate in an investigation relating to an alleged violation.

If the Senate passes the bills (we will keep you posted), employers who violate these rules could face stiff penalties, including the forfeiture of state licenses or certifications and debarment from state projects.

The Justice Department announced that it has fined Aquatico Pool Management for document abuse. According to DOJ:

On June 8, 2010, OSC entered into a settlement agreement resolving a charge of discrimination. The charge, which was filed by a lawful permanent resident, alleged discrimination in the employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) process. The charging party established his right to work by providing a valid DHS-issued permanent resident card during the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process. However, because he also presented a Social Security card with the notation “valid for work only with DHS authorization,” Aquatico refused to hire the charging party as a part-time swim instructor. Aquatico agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1,100 to the federal government for a single act of document abuse, and $499.20 in back pay and interest to the charging party. The company will also post anti-discrimination notices and will train its employees regarding the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. OSC will monitor Aquatico's I-9 practices for three years.

The settlement agreement can be viewed here.

USCIS has announced major changes are coming to E-Verify starting tomorrow. E-Verify users will see a new home page which will be personalized for the user and include alerts on any cases with action items. The site also has simplified the data entry process to three steps and a new simplified results page.

The new site features three types of case alerts - open cases to be closed, cases with new updates, and work authorization documents expiring.

Aside from site design changes, USCIS is using simplified terms on the page.

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