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Department of Homeland Security unveils new employee verification program

By Rob Smith, Ceridian manager of Government Relations

Few policy issues are more daunting for the federal government -- and for compliance -- than immigration reform. This session of Congress, the House and Senate seemed poised to work out comprehensive immigration legislation to block the steady stream of illegal aliens across U.S. borders and limit job opportunities for unlawful workers. However, after months of nearly nation-wide demonstrations, countless hours of news coverage, and a year of debate in the halls of Congress and across the nation, election year politics and the sheer enormity of the task derailed the bill's consideration.

The new IMAGE program
In the absence of congressional action, the Bush Administration and several state and local governments have taken steps to toughen enforcement of immigration laws, particularly on employers who hire illegal immigrants. The number of prosecutions for hiring unlawful workers has increased almost 100 fold in the past two years, and employers are under new pressure to step up their worker verification efforts.

In response to a flood of questions to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from employers on how to avoid hiring illegal aliens, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, rolled out a new program called the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, or IMAGE. The new service is designed to train employers on practices to verify their employees' work status and reduce the number of unlawful workers employed in the U.S.

The IMAGE program is completely voluntary. The service helps interested businesses implement the best practices ICE has identified for avoiding employment violations. Once employers sign up for IMAGE, they will be required to use the Basic Pilot Employment Verification Program, an electronic database that matches employees' I-9 data with Social Security records, to verify all new hires' legal work status. IMAGE participants will receive training on using the Basic Pilot program and identifying fraudulent documents, and only individuals who undergo this instruction will be able to submit data to the Basic Pilot database and process employment I-9 forms.

Employers will be required to submit to an initial I-9 audit by ICE to detect existing worker violations, and they will have to follow up with semiannual audits by a neutral party in subsequent years. In addition, businesses must establish a procedure to respond to "no-match letters" from the Social Security Administration and to report any hiring violations to ICE.

IMAGE training and certification
Illegal immigration will continue to be at the forefront of public debate and Congress' agenda, and the government is sure to increase compliance requirements on employers to verify the employment eligibility of new hires. Although enrolling in the IMAGE program presents employers with a good measure of additional work and some expense, they can receive significant benefits in exchange. DHS expects that becoming "IMAGE-certified" will be an industry standard, and the government is offering employers free training to achieve this distinction. In addition, the government will conduct a full review of participants' hiring practices and will offer guidance to correct flaws or gaps in their systems.

IMAGE participants will also receive the most up-to-date information on identity theft issues and schemes that are used to circumvent hiring laws. No legitimate business wants to hire an illegal alien inadvertently, and the IMAGE program is another safeguard they can take to shore up their company practices and remain compliant with the law. Perhaps most importantly, the program provides a backstop for avoiding hiring violations prosecution - if an "IMAGE-certified" employer complies with the requirements and is still found to have hired an unlawful worker, the employer cannot be charged with a verification violation. This reassurance is particularly beneficial given the sophistication and ease with which fraudulent Form I-9 work documents can be produced.

Increasing responsibilities for employers
Regardless of what eventual legislative solution the federal government arrives at to combat illegal immigration, it will almost certainly include a mandatory electronic employment verification system and increased penalties for employers who hire illegal workers, so the IMAGE program can help businesses get ahead of this curve. As the number of illegal immigrants continues to grow, the government will increasingly look toward IMAGE-type partnerships and employer self-compliance to help alleviate the strain on the DHS. While the strict reporting requirements and regular I-9 audits could be time consuming and expensive for many employers, it should be an attractive option for some.

Whether the IMAGE program will prove to be successful or popular with employers remains to be seen. But its formation clearly indicates that employers will have to accept increased responsibility for their hiring practices and that the government sees businesses as essential partners in combating illegal immigration. It's also likely that employers will soon see similar hiring best practice training services offered by private companies, so they will have a variety of options to choose from as this new era in corporate responsibility emerges. Ceridian will continue to monitor these developments closely, so stay tuned for updates.

For more information on the IMAGE program or to request an information packet, visit the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Web site.