Federal officials Wednesday notified more than 650 businesses around the country, including nearly 50 in Los Angeles, that their records will be audited as part of a widening effort to find companies that hire illegal immigrants.
The number of notices issued is the largest ever in a single day and exceeds the total sent out in all of fiscal 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
"Part of the strategy is to let businesses know we mean business," agency spokeswoman Pat Reilly said.
The Obama administration has made tougher enforcement aimed at employers a cornerstone of its immigration policy. In April, the federal government issued new guidelines to immigration agents instructing them to focus on employers who hire illegal immigrants rather than just to arrest workers. The government is also working to improve and expand an employment verification program. The targeted companies, which include firms in New York, San Antonio, Seattle and San Diego, were identified through tips and leads, officials said.
The notices are the government's first step in what could be a lengthy investigation. Immigration agents plan to review the I-9 forms and identification documents at all 652 companies. Those with significant numbers of undocumented workers may be fined. And if agents believe the businesses knowingly hired illegal immigrants or find "a pattern of egregious violations," criminal investigations could be launched, Reilly said. The government did not release the names of any of the companies to be audited, but Reilly said they represent a broad range of industries.
The immigration agency also notified 80 companies, including three in Los Angeles, that it planned to fine them because they employ large numbers of people who do not appear to be authorized to work in the U.S. Immigration agents had earlier conducted audits on those companies' records and, in many cases, determined that the Social Security numbers listed for employees either did not exist or did not belong to the employees specified.
A government audit of one such company, Los Angeles-based American Apparel, showed that 1,600 of its roughly 10,000 employees may not be authorized to work and the employment status of 200 others could not be verified, according to Peter Schey, an attorney for the company. The fine, which could exceed $100,000, will become final in 30 days unless American Apparel requests a court hearing. If the company continues to employ people who have no work authorization, it could face criminal action.
