The Houston Chronicle, February 20, 2012 -                                                                                                                                                          

“…An analysis of nearly 800 audit cases ICE completed since October 2010 shows that roughly half of the 117 companies fined were not specifically penalized for hiring illegal immigrants, but for problems with the employment verification paperwork they are required to fill out for new hires.                                                                      

 

“A third of the total $1.8 million in fines issued by the agency in those closed cases involved companies that auditors found had zero workers with 'suspect documents,' the records show.

“…The fines for poor bookkeeping are part of an overall 'deterrent strategy' to keep employers from hiring illegal immigrants, ICE officials said.                                         

 

“…But the records also show that many companies with scores of potential illegal immigrants on their payrolls escaped any punishment save a warning notice. Those included: a tile company in Sunnyvale, Texas, with 165 workers with suspect documents; a Dallas tortilla company with 167 workers with suspect documents; and a frozen food manufacturer in McKinney, Texas, with 130 workers with suspect documents.

Experts on the I-9 auditing process said it is often difficult to prove that companies knowingly hired illegal immigrants, even in what might appear to be egregious cases, since the law requires only that employers fill out an I-9 and make sure a Social Security card looks 'reasonably genuine' on its face.                                                         

       

“…Cheryl Machia, who runs a small dairy farm in Sheldon, Vt., said she was audited by ICE in November 2009. Agents did not find illegal immigrants on her payroll, the records show, but they did find significant problems with her I-9 paperwork, which she said was handled by an accountant who since has died.                                                 

 

'They picked them apart and nailed me for everything they could,' said Machia, who hired a lawyer after ICE threatened to fine her nearly $17,000. 'They got me.' 

 

The lawyer eventually negotiated the fine down to about $5,000. But by then the lawyer's bill was up to $17,000, said Machia, who has about 20 employees. 

 

'It's been hell,' she said.”                                                                                                                                                                                         

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