The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) legally mandates that U.S. employers must verify the employment eligibility status of newly-hired employees and makes it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. Noncompliance, whether intentional or caused simply by oversight, has severe legal and financial consequences imposed by the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the potential of a corporate image tarnished by negative publicity. Following is a partial list of federally mandated fines:

•  For employers who fail to properly complete, retain, or make I-9 Forms available for inspection, fines range from $100 to $1,100 per individual I-9.
•  For employers who knowingly hire or knowingly continue to employ unauthorized workers, civil penalties range from $250 to $11,000 per violation.
•  For employers engaging in a pattern or practice of knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized workers, criminal penalties can be as much as $3,000 per unauthorized employee and/or 6 months of imprisonment.