ICE serves 180 audit notices to businesses in 5 states

ICE announced issuance of Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 180 businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. The notices alert business owners that ICE will inspect their records to determine if they are complying with employment verification laws.

The Notice states that "ICE is committed to establishing a meaningful I-9 inspection program to promote compliance with the law. This effort is a first step in ICE's long-term strategy to address and deter illegal employment," said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. acting special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in New Orleans.

Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual's identity document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual.

In 2009, ICE implemented a new, comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce. Under this strategy, ICE focused its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by knowingly employing undocumented workers. The initiative was launched 3/2/2010 as a direct result of ICE's new strategy.