Imprisonment of Employer VP Leaves Fishing Industry Reeling*

(*I humbly apologize to my readers for this appalling headline but it proved irresistible and I may never have an opportunity for it again.)[Readers, take note:  I’ve been telling you for about five years that the threat of jail time against I-9 violating company officials would become a primar...

Jose E. Latour May 06, 2008

Federalizing the Local Cops

Nik Steinberg wrote a heck of an editorial in The Christian Science Monitor and the sheer logic of it should have the feds blushing.  Here's a few choice excerpts..."Imagine living in a state where local cops can stop anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally, and arrest them i...

Jose E. Latour Apr 28, 2008

How to Further Mess Up This Economy

I consider the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) to be a pretty credible organization as far interests groups go.  The main value of their efforts is in serving as a reality check for governmental "initiatives" designed to "help".  For this reason, the results of their re...

Jose E. Latour Apr 27, 2008

SHRM Lobbies Oklahoma in Support of Biometrics

SHRM headed to Oklahoma Monday to encourage small business owners to lobby their congressional delegation in support of the immigration reform bill. the organization is supporting.  The measure would require employees and applicants to prove their identity to employers by providing biometric in...

Jose E. Latour Apr 24, 2008

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

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