Deputizing Employers: ICE’s New Angle

I've been pondering the quagmire in which ICE's enforcement actions placed Pilgrim's Pride recently.  Imagine this scenario:You are a corporate compliance manager/counsel/etc. and the phone rings.  A person claiming to be from ICE advises you that your company is going to be subjected to a...

Jose E. Latour Apr 23, 2008

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

In the midst of the current chaos caused by the Feds and their "no holds barred" enforcement efforts, one has to wonder if anyone in Washington is aware that they have effectively placed U.S. employers in a irreconcilable Catch-22, one which has the potential to disrupt our economy far bey...

Jose E. Latour Apr 21, 2008

A Short and Scary ICE Quote…

You read about the Pilgrim's pride raid, where Federal agents arrested more than 300 people as part of an identity theft investigation at Pilgrim's Pride plants in West Virginia and four other states.  According to ICE, agents had taken into custody 311 people by Thursday afternoon. Of those, 9...

Jose E. Latour Apr 19, 2008

Relying on E-Verify Alone: Playing Chicken with the Feds

Chances are you heard about the big Tyson raids of the past, but it appears that DHS appetite for chicken is bigger than we thought.  Consider the press release just issued (4/17/08)by Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, self-described as "the largest chicken company in the United States and Puerto Ri...

Jose E. Latour Apr 18, 2008

Who’s on first? States Laws Create Compliance Chaos

The Sunday Gazette Mail reported that despite the state-driven legislation to address the problem of unauthorized workers, things are slowing in state capitols this spring, with many propposals "watered down, delayed or outright defeated."  But amidst the debates, employer confusion c...

Jose E. Latour Apr 17, 2008

EXODUS: Movement of Job People (out of the U.S.)

With all due respect to the late Bob Marley, the title was "simply irresistable" given my topic for today.  Whoops, ditto for the late Robert Palmer.  An "exodus" is not too dramatic a word to illustrate the latest trend in globalism, and it foretells of a grim future f...

Jose E. Latour Apr 16, 2008

Republicans and Laissez Faire Part Ways

Historically identified as pro-business champions of the free market economy, the Republican party continues its post-September-11th expansion of government intervention in the private sector, and people are starting to notice.The process, of course, began after the terrorist bombings, when the worl...

Jose E. Latour Apr 14, 2008

The Sky IS Falling

I was stunned to read the following in an article on the current Social Security “no match” notifications mess.  The quote, published in the October issue of Inside Counsel Magazine, reads as follows: “You can fix a false negative if the agency has enough staffing to deal with it… It’s a logist...

Jose E. Latour Dec 19, 2007

A New I-9 in Your Christmas Stocking

With their characteristic sense of humor, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) merrily announced a Christmas present for U.S. employers: based up the rule issued late last month in the Federal Register, employers will be required to use the new Employment Eligibility Verification Form I...

Jose E. Latour Dec 04, 2007

Listen up USG Contractors: Time to Comply

The pressure to comply with employment verification requirements may soon hit companies which contract with the U.S. governement.  This is from SHRM:"The House has already included language in four appropriations bills that would require all federal contractors to participate in the govern...

Jose E. Latour Dec 02, 2007