L.A. employers face immigration audits

Schey said the government audit, which began in early 2008, did not disclose any exploitation or any intent to violate immigration laws. American Apparel is working with the government and the company's employees to clear up the discrepancies, he said. The attorney said many of the issues may be a result of typographical errors or honest mistakes but that employees who cannot prove they are authorized to work will be let go.

"Any manufacturing company in an area with a large immigrant community is inevitably going to have employees using unauthorized documents," Schey said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that. That is just a reality in life today in light of the broken immigration system."

Businesses are forbidden by law to hire illegal immigrants but often do so unwittingly. Employers are required to review, and keep, identification and work authorization documents and to complete a form, called an I-9, recording that information for each employee. They are not required, however, to determine whether those documents are valid.

Companies can check the employment status of new hires through E-Verify, the online verification system, but the program is voluntary in California and most other states. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has called the program an "essential tool" for employers trying to maintain a legal workforce and is trying to expand its use across the country.

The new employment enforcement strategies, including the increased use of I-9 audits, mark a shift from the George W. Bush administration, said Stephen Lee, a professor at UC Irvine School of Law who has written about immigration enforcement against employers. Under President George W. Bush, work-site raids and arrests of illegal immigrant workers were common. The Obama administration has criticized those raids as ineffective and harmful to families.

"What is very clear is that the Obama administration is sending a signal," Lee said. "Gone are the days where only the unauthorized workers will be punished. Employers who hire these workers are going to be on the hook as well."

Lee said the pending audits may prompt unauthorized workers to go home and not return to work the next day. He said they could also result in more discrimination, as employers try to avoid hiring unauthorized immigrants and shy away from anyone who could be undocumented.