CIS: Worksite Enforcement Plummets under Obama

CIS: Worksite Enforcement Plummets under Obama

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) found that worksite enforcement has plummeted over the past couple of years. Using internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statistics, the report charges that the Obama administration has "largely abandoned efforts to enforce the laws against hiring illegal workers." (CIS, ICE Records Reveal Steep Drop in Worksite Enforcement Since 2013, June 2015)
When President Obama took office in 2009 he dramatically changed the way ICE handled worksite enforcement. Rather than continuing the practice of sending ICE agents into worksites and arresting illegal alien workers, President Obama ordered ICE to audit I-9 documents required for new hires and impose fines on the employers. (ICE News Release, July 1, 2009; see New York Times, July 9, 2010; FAIR Legislative Update, Mar. 5, 2014) However, while previous worksite enforcement efforts were unannounced, ICE started giving employers advanced notice that they will inspect the I-9 forms — giving employers who used illegal alien labor an opportunity to cover their tracks before ICE arrived.
The ICE data analyzed by CIS show that the steep decline in the number of worksite I-9 audits has resulted in fewer employer arrests and fines collected. From 2010 to 2014, there were approximately 200 employer arrests a year though the number has been trending downward since a high of 240 in 2012. (CIS, ICE Records Reveal Steep Drop in Worksite Enforcement Since 2013, June 2015) This year, CIS projects there will only be 65 employer arrests. (Id.) Similarly, from 2011 to 2014, ICE collected more than $8 million a year in fines. (Id.) In 2015, ICE is expected to collect approximately half of that, or $4,620,000. (Id.)
The abandonment of worksite enforcement also corresponds with the failure of S. 744, the mass guest worker amnesty bill. From 2009 to 2013 (the year the Senate introduced and passed S. 744), ICE worksite audits increased from 1,444 to 3,127, presumably in an attempt to show that the Obama administration would enforce our immigration laws. (Id.) Then, in 2014 when it was clear the House would not pass the amnesty bill, worksite audits significantly dropped to 1,320. (Id.) This year, ICE is on pace to perform only 435 worksite audits.

http://www.fairus.org/legislative-updates/legislative-update-6-23-2015#1