ICE Best Hiring Practices

The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) suggests the following as bear hiring practices for all employers that want to avoid any problems with unauthorized workers. If you have any specific questions about your hiring practices, you should contact a qualified immigration law attorney or contact the government for assistance. To locate your nearest office, visit http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/alphaa.htm

• Establish an internal training program, with annual updates, on how to manage completion of Form I-9 (Employee Eligibility Verification Form) and how to detect fraudulent use of documents in the I-9 process.  
• Permit the I-9 and Basic Pilot Program process to be conducted only by individuals who have received this training —and include a secondary review as part of each employee’s verification, to minimize the potential for a single individual to subvert the process.  
• Arrange for semi-annual I-9 audits by an external auditing firm or a trained employee not otherwise involved in the I-9 process.  
• Establish a self-reporting procedure for the reporting to ICE of any violations or discovered deficiencies.  
• Establish a protocol for responding to no-match letters received from the Social Security Administration.  
• Establish and maintain safeguards against use of the verification process for unlawful discrimination.  
• Establish a protocol for assessing the adherence to the “best practices” guidelines by the company’s contractors/subcontractors.