With the ongoing debates regarding the border wall construction and mass deportations of illegal aliens, many have forgotten of the infamous ‘silent raids’ which have not slowed down with the current administration in Washington. These raids do not involve immigration agents’ search of company facilities and arrests ‘on the spot.’ Rather, businesses are served Notices of Inspection (NOI) by ICE agents either in person or by mail. A typical NOI requires the company to provide a combination of documents including all I-9 records, payroll data, and corporate data (tax ID number, articles of incorporation and/or bylaws, owners’ information, business licenses, listings of all contractors). Importantly, NOIs often specifically ask for copies of the ‘no-match’ letters issued by Social Security Administration.
While NOIs usually require documents provision within 3 business days, extensions are usually granted upon employer’s request. Employers should instruct their HR and front desk employees to be on the lookout for NOIs and, due to time sensitivity, immediately bring them to the attention of the legal department and ownership/management. Immigration counsel should be notified as soon as possible so that negotiations regarding documents production extension timelines and limitation on the data to be provided may commence as soon as possible.