Worksite Enforcement

Worksite enforcement is one aspect of overall immigration enforcement, focused on identifying the workers who are not authorized to work as well as the employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers. As the research below discusses, worksite enforcement tools include workplace raids to apprehend unauthorized workers, the use of audits to examine identity and employment eligibility forms, and the levying of penalties against employers found to have violated the law.

Recent Activity

Reports February 2014 Curbing the Influence of "Bad Actors" in International Migration (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports January 2014 Spheres of Exploitation: Thwarting Actors Who Profit from Illegal Labor, Domestic Servitude, and Sex Work By Meghan Benton
Reports January 2014 A Strategic Framework for Creating Legality and Order in Immigration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Will Somerville	Policy Briefs January 2014 IRCA in Retrospect: Guideposts for Today’s Immigration Reform By Muzaffar Chishti and Charles Kamasaki
Multimedia October 31, 2013 10th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference	Fact Sheets August 2013 Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with Individual 2013 House Bills
Fact Sheets April 2013 Side-by-Side Comparison of the 2013 Senate Immigration Framework with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation	Fact Sheets April 2013 Side-by-Side Comparison of 2013 Senate Immigration Bill with 2006 and 2007 Senate Legislation

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Reports May 2011 Policies to Curb Unauthorized Employment By Madeleine Sumption	Policy Briefs February 2011 E-Verify: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Proposals for Reform By Marc R. Rosenblum
Reports July 2009 The Next Generation of E-Verify: Getting Employment Verification Right By Doris Meissner and Marc R. Rosenblum	Reports February 2009 DHS and Immigration: Taking Stock and Correcting Course By Doris Meissner and Donald M. Kerwin
Policy Briefs October 2007 Social Security 'No-Match' Letters: A Primer By Claire Bergeron , Aaron Terrazas and Doris Meissner	Reports September 2006 Immigration and America's Future: A New Chapter By Doris Meissner, Deborah W. Meyers, Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Michael Fix
Policy Briefs July 2006 Immigration Enforcement: Beyond the Border and the Workplace By David A. Martin	Policy Briefs November 2005 Immigration Enforcement at the Worksite: Making it Work By Marc R. Rosenblum

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Video, Audio

March 22, 2010

USCIS Director Mayorkas Offers Vision for His Agency

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas details his agenda for his agency and discusses top priorities for USCIS.

Audio

July 30, 2009

The Next Generation of E-Verify: Getting Employer Verification Right

This webinar examines the E-Verify system, offering short- and long-term recommendations for improving gaps in employment verification and addressing an "employer-centric" design that exacerbates existing problems.

Video

July 20, 2009

E-Verify: An Assessment of its Strengths and Weaknesses

This discussion focuses on E-Verify, the federal government's electronic employment verification system, and the release of an MPI report that assesses the program's strengths and weaknesses.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio

June 26, 2019

Will Immigration Reform Ever Succeed Again? The Legacy of IRCA & Its Enduring Lessons

This discussion on the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) showcases MPI Fellow Charles Kamasaki's book, Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die. Kamasaki is joined by other veterans of the IRCA debate for a conversation on the lessons, the intended and unintended consequences, and how the law’s legacy has shaped contemporary politics on immigration.

Reports

May 2019

Immigration-Related Policy Changes in the First Two Years of the Trump Administration

In the two years since President Trump entered office, U.S. immigration policy has changed in many ways. Some actions have received significant media attention and public scrutiny, and others have been implemented with little fanfare. This document chronicles these wide-reaching policy changes, covering immigration enforcement, the immigration courts, humanitarian admissions, visa processing, and more.

Audio

March 15, 2018

State and Local Labor Standards Enforcement in Immigrant-Dense Industries

This discussion, featuring California's Labor Commissioner and the head of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation, launched a report that examines state innovations in labor standards enforcement in low-wage, immigrant-dense industries. With wage underpayment, payroll fraud, and other violations widespread in industries such as construction and car-washing, the discussion focused on how targeted enforcement can deter practices that hurt native-born and immigrant workers alike, cost state tax revenue, and disadvantage law-abiding employers.

Articles

January 24, 2018

Shifting Gears, Trump Administration Launches High-Profile Worksite Enforcement Operations

An unannounced sweep of 98 convenience stores by U.S. immigration authorities—resulting in the arrest of 21 unauthorized workers—may signal a new approach to worksite enforcement under the Trump administration, moving away from a strategy of paper-based audits that resulted in higher employer fines and fewer worker arrests. This article explores worksite enforcement over recent decades.

Articles

October 11, 2017

Criminalizing Irregular Migrant Labor: Thailand’s Crackdown in Context

Thailand has become a key destination for migrant workers, primarily from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Many lack authorization, however, and as their numbers have grown, so has the government's intent in regulating their movement—sometimes provoking unintended results. This article explores recent patterns in labor migration to Thailand and examines the likely impacts of a 2017 decree criminalizing illegal employment.

Audio

April 24, 2017

The First 100 Days: Immigration Policy in the Trump Administration

As the 100-day milestone for the Trump administration approaches, MPI's Doris Meissner and Muzaffar Chishti are joined by the former Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Julie Myers Wood, and former DHS Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning C. Stewart Verdery for a discussion of the administration's track record to date on immigration, the policies articulated in its executive orders, legal challenges, reactions by publics and policymakers, and the possible long-term effects of these policies.

Articles

August 26, 2015

Business as Usual? Regularizing Foreign Labor in Costa Rica

With the growing urbanization and consolidation of Nicaraguan immigrants in sectors such as construction and domestic service, Costa Rica has shifted its focus from immigration enforcement to integration. Tension has emerged between the government and private sector as a new mechanism for regularizing unauthorized immigrant workers has failed to gain traction.

Video, Audio

July 23, 2015

Targeted Enforcement: Projecting the Effects of Executive Action on Deportations

Marking the release of an MPI report, this briefing explores the effects of recent revisions in DHS immigration enforcement priorities on deportations within the U.S. interior.

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Worksite Enforcement

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