Below are descriptions of illegal immigration activities.
According to the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) the following are the most common
violations of United States immigration laws:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) handles suspected criminal activity, especially suspected
terrorists, human traffickers, and sexual predators.
Illegal aliens may be illegally
receiving Health and Human Services (HHS) benefits including
Medicare, Medicaid, welfare and unemployment insurance, at both
national and state levels.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
pursues those who willfully and intentionally violate their known
legal duty of voluntarily filing income tax returns and/or paying
the correct amount of income, employment, or excise taxes.
The Social Security Administration
(SSA) pursues reports of fraud, waste, and abuse within SSA's
programs and operations. Of particular concern is fraudulent use
of Social Security numbers.
The Selective Service System (SSS)
requires male illegal aliens residing in the United States who
are 18 through 25 years of age to register. Some states require
registration as a condition for state financial aid for school as
well as for other benefits.
Summary of
Federal Immigration and Nationality Act Section 8 USC 1324
"Any person who . . . encourages or induces an alien to . . .
reside . . . knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such . . . residence is . .
. in violation of law, shall be punished as provided . . . for each alien in respect to
whom such a violation occurs . . . fined under title 18 . . . imprisoned not more than 5
years, or both."
Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality
Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):
A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or
local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:
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assists an alien s/he should reasonably know is illegally in
the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or
assisting him or her to obtain employment, or
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encourages that alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him
or her to an employer or by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way,
or
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knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.
Penalties upon conviction include criminal fines, imprisonment,
and forfeiture of vehicles and real property used to commit the crime. Anyone employing or
contracting with an illegal alien without verifying his or her work authorization status
is guilty of a misdemeanor. Aliens and employers violating immigration laws are subject to
arrest, detention, and seizure of their vehicles or property. In addition, individuals or
entities who engage in racketeering enterprises that commit (or conspire to commit)
immigration-related felonies are subject to private civil suits for treble damages and
injunctive relief.
Recruitment and Employment of Illegal Aliens
It is unlawful to hire an alien, to recruit an alien, or to refer
an alien for a fee, knowing the alien is unauthorized to work in the United States. It is
equally unlawful to continue to employ an alien knowing that the alien is unauthorized to
work. Employers may give preference in recruitment and hiring to a U.S. citizen over an
alien with work authorization only where the U.S. citizen is equally or better qualified.
It is unlawful to hire an individual for employment in the United States without complying
with employment eligibility verification requirements. Requirements include examination of
identity documents and completion of Form I-9 for every employee hired. Employers must
retain all I-9s, and, with three days' advance notice, the forms must be made available
for inspection. Employment includes any service or labor performed for any type of
remuneration within the United States, with the exception of sporadic domestic service by
an individual in a private home. Day laborers or other casual workers engaged in any
compensated activity (with the above exception) are employees for purposes of immigration
law. An employer includes an agent or anyone acting directly or indirectly in the interest
of the employer. For purposes of verification of authorization to work, employer also means
an independent contractor, or a contractor other than the person using the alien labor.
The use of temporary or short-term contracts cannot be used to circumvent the employment
authorization verification requirements. If employment is to be for less than the usual
three days allowed for completing the I-9 Form requirement, the form must be completed
immediately at the time of hire.
An employer has constructive knowledge that an employee is an
illegal unauthorized worker if a reasonable person would infer it from the facts.
Constructive knowledge constituting a violation of federal law has been found where (1)
the I-9 employment eligibility form has not been properly completed, including supporting
documentation, (2) the employer has learned from other individuals, media reports, or any
source of information available to the employer that the alien is unauthorized to work, or
(3) the employer acts with reckless disregard for the legal consequences of permitting a
third party to provide or introduce an illegal alien into the employer's work force.
Knowledge cannot be inferred solely on the basis of an individual's accent or foreign
appearance.
Actual specific knowledge is not required. For example, a
newspaper article stating that ballrooms depend on an illegal alien work force of dance
hostesses was held by the courts to be a reasonable ground for suspicion that unlawful
conduct had occurred.
It is illegal for nonprofit or religious organizations to
knowingly assist an employer to violate employment sanctions, regardless of claims that
their convictions require them to assist aliens. Harboring or aiding illegal aliens is not
protected by the First Amendment. It is a felony to establish a commercial enterprise for
the purpose of evading any provision of federal immigration law. Violators may be fined or
imprisoned for up to five years.
Encouraging and Harboring Illegal Aliens
It is a violation of law for any person to conceal, harbor, or
shield from detection in any place, including any building or means of transportation, any
alien who is in the United States in violation of law. Harboring means any conduct that
tends to substantially facilitate an alien to remain in the U.S. illegally. The sheltering
need not be clandestine, and harboring covers aliens arrested outdoors, as well as in a
building. This provision includes harboring an alien who entered the U.S. legally but has
since lost his legal status.
An employer can be convicted of the felony of harboring illegal
aliens who are his employees if he takes actions in reckless disregard of their illegal
status, such as ordering them to obtain false documents, altering records, obstructing INS
inspections, or taking other actions that facilitate the alien's illegal employment. Any
person who within any 12-month period hires ten or more individuals with actual knowledge
that they are illegal aliens or unauthorized workers is guilty of felony harboring. It is
also a felony to encourage or induce an alien to come to or reside in the U.S. knowing or
recklessly disregarding the fact that the alien's entry or residence is in violation of
the law. This crime applies to any person, rather than just employers of illegal aliens.
Courts have ruled that "encouraging" includes counseling illegal aliens to continue
working in the U.S. or assisting them to complete applications with false statements or
obvious errors. The fact that the alien is a refugee fleeing persecution is not a defense
to this felony, since U.S. law and the UN Protocol on Refugees both require that a refugee
must report to immigration authorities without delay upon entry to the U.S.
The penalty for felony harboring is a fine and imprisonment for up
to five years. The penalty for felony alien smuggling is a fine and up to ten years'
imprisonment. Where the crime causes serious bodily injury or places the life of any
person in jeopardy, the penalty is a fine and up to twenty years' imprisonment. If the
criminal smuggling or harboring results in the death of any person, the penalty can
include life imprisonment. Convictions for aiding, abetting, or conspiracy to commit alien
smuggling or harboring, carry the same penalties. Courts can impose consecutive prison
sentences for each alien smuggled or harbored. A court may order a convicted smuggler to
pay restitution if the alien smuggled qualifies as a victim under the Victim and Witness
Protection Act. Conspiracy to commit crimes of sheltering, harboring, or employing illegal
aliens is a separate federal offense punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or five years'
imprisonment.
Enforcement
A person or entity having knowledge of a violation or potential
violation of employer sanctions provisions may submit a signed written report to the
INS office with jurisdiction over the business or residence of the potential violator,
whether an employer, employee, or agent. The report must include the names and
addresses of both the complainant and the violator, and detailed factual allegations,
including date, time, and place of the potential violation, and the specific conduct
alleged to be a violation of employer sanctions. By regulation, the INS will only
investigate third-party reports that have a reasonable probability of validity.
Designated INS officers and employees, and all other officers whose duty it is to enforce
criminal laws, may make an arrest for violation of smuggling or harboring illegal aliens.
State and local law enforcement officials have the general power
to investigate and arrest violators of federal immigration statutes without prior INS
knowledge or approval, as long as they are authorized to do so by state law. There is no
extant federal limitation on this authority. The 1996 immigration control legislation
passed by Congress was intended to encourage states and local agencies to participate in
the process of enforcing federal immigration laws. Immigration officers and local law
enforcement officers may detain an individual for a brief warrantless interrogation where
circumstances create a reasonable suspicion that the individual is illegally present in
the U.S. Specific facts constituting a reasonable suspicion include evasive, nervous, or
erratic behavior; dress or speech indicating foreign citizenship; and presence in an area
known to contain a concentration of illegal aliens. Hispanic appearance alone is not
sufficient. Immigration officers and police must have a valid warrant or valid employer's
consent to enter workplaces or residences. Any vehicle used to transport or harbor illegal
aliens, or used as a substantial part of an activity that encourages illegal aliens to
come to or reside in the U.S. may be seized by an immigration officer and is subject to
forfeiture. The forfeiture power covers any conveyances used within the U.S.
Tax Crimes
Employers who aid or abet the preparation of false tax returns by
failing to pay income or Social Security taxes for illegal alien employees, or who
knowingly make payments using false names or Social Security numbers, are subject to IRS
criminal and civil sanctions.
