I was one of 3 compliance auditors who reviewed over 7,000 I9 documents from an agricultural farm in Florida in 2012. We were hired when the company was audited for I9 document violations and the possible violation for hiring illegal immigrants. It was the start of when regulatory agencies were cracking down on immigration hiring and the abuse of immigrants. The company, a strawberry farm in Lakeland, Florida paid over $350,000 in fines and then agreed to have Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the enforcement arm, conduct an audit of all their I9 documents for the past 5 years.

It was during this intense audit that I learned some of the details and idiosyncrasies of I9 document corrections and what ICE determines as compliance. The 3 auditors were in communication with ICE during the initially 2 weeks then expanded to almost 3 months. After the 2 weeks, the other auditor left, and we were left with 2 auditors who maintained the intense review for 3 months. Because of this internal review and agreement, the strawberry farm had with DHS, the fines were reduced to $150,000 with an ongoing audit for the next 5 years. Here is where I learned that I9 documents can be an easy way for DHS to identify fines and penalties. There is no reason to give any regulatory entities free money in violations and fines.

On June 30, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued several rulings outlining several civil penalties increases, ranging from small hikes to doubling penalties. This started with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act (FCPIAA) signed into law in November 2015. This ruling also adds a catch-up adjustment as well as annual adjustments. Not only does this ruling impact all Immigration processes but it will impact the number of fines and penalties that Employers must pay if they are audited for I9 documentation but also will impact most Immigration processes and regulations.