In late 2007, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials raided a Koch Foods plant in Fairfield, just outside Cincinnati. They found 161 illegal workers at the poultry plant. Now ICE has fined the company $536,000.

It is remarkable that a seemingly simple, one-page form—the Form I-9—can cause so many headaches. But who ever said a government form was easy, much less an immigration-related form. Here are the most common mistakes employers make.

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., one of the nation’s largest poultry processors, has agreed to settle with the government following a two-year Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation into allegations that hundreds of its employees were unauthorized to work in the United States.

Illinois’ long-standing mistrust of the federal government’s E-Verify employment eligibility verification program has now been codified into a new law meant to make sure the online system can’t be used to harm workers. Employers that use E-Verify must now complete the Illinois Department of Labor’s “E-Verify Employer Attestation Form.”

Things started out rocky last November for American Building Maintenance (ABM), a nationwide janitorial services conglomerate, when ICE agents busted it for employing 1,200 undocumented workers. Bad turned to worse in January when the EEOC filed a complaint against ABM, alleging race discrimination against black workers hired last fall through a nonprofit Minneapolis employment agency called Emerge.

Since April 3, 2009, employers in the United States have been required to use a revised version of the I-9 form. Plus, the federal agency that enforces workplace immigration laws has become much more aggressive in targeting employers. Here are the details, plus a Q&A from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) ... 

Q. I understand that I-9 forms can now be stored electronically. To save on office space and filing time, our department is considering scanning and electronically filing all personnel files and documents. Is this OK?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be conducting I-9 audits of employers performing work on “critical infrastructure” over the winter months. About 1,000 employers—mainly in defense- and law enforcement-related industries—are being targeted for the audits. The new audit crackdown may be a sign of things to come.

The feds are turning up the heat on employers that shortcut employment eligibility verification laws, targeting 1,000 companies nationwide. Will you be one of them? You can help ensure you're compliant by checking out our webinar CD Immigration Compliance Update 2009: I-9s, E-Verify, Crackdowns and the ‘Obama Effect’.

In August 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed regulation that would rescind the “no-match rule” that for years has been the centerpiece of the government’s effort to enforce laws banning employment of illegal immigrants. The no-match rule made employers responsible for resolving discrepancies when employees presented mismatched Social Security numbers on employment eligibility verification Form I-9. DHS wants to rescind the no-match rule in order to emphasize its E-Verify program ...

Work site enforcement efforts directly support the Department of Homeland Security’s border security measures, Secretary Janet Napolitano said at a recent border-security conference. She said keeping illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border depends on making sure employers don’t hire undocumented workers ...

Times are changing in the world of workplace immigration law. Employers now have to complete a new version of the I-9 Form. The feds just launched “a bold new audit initiative” to punish employers who hire illegals. And starting Sept. 8, thousands of federal contractors are required to use the electronic E-Verify system. Result: a greater risk for immigration-related trouble than ever before ...

The federal government’s requirement that contractors confirm employee eligibility through Homeland Security’s E-Verify database has overcome its final legal hurdle. Several government contractors had sued to block implementation of the online verification requirement, but a federal court decision in Maryland cleared the way for it to take effect.

A federal court brushed aside last-minute legal appeals from business groups, allowing implementation of the new E-Verify mandate for federal contractors, effective on Sept. 8. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a list of frequently asked questions about the new rules, including who must comply and how. Go to www.uscis.gov/everify.

Several employee advocacy groups are reporting more complaints of workers not getting paid for work they have performed. Many of those complaining are undocumented workers who fear being deported. Advocates say they often have to persuade illegal immigrants that wage-and-hour laws cover them, too, and that they have a right to be paid.