Civil fines for employers who violate U.S. federal immigration laws will increase by 25 percent, on average, effective March 27, 2008. This means an increase of as much as $5,000 per violation, for the most serious category. These civil fines are being adjusted for inflation and have not been increased since 1999.
Employers may be fined for knowingly employing individuals who are not employment authorized, for failure to comply with the requirements relating to employment eligibility verification forms, and for immigration-related document fraud. The new minimum penalty for knowingly employing unauthorized workers is $375. The maximum penalty for a first violation is $3,200, and $16,000 for multiple violations. These fines are assessed on a per-employee basis; thus, the potential exposure for many employers is substantial.
DHS Increases Enforcement against Employers, the DHS monitors and enforces workplace immigration laws through its enforcement division - the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It should be noted that DHS and ICE enforcement mechanisms against employers include not only civil fines, but potentially criminal law charges as well as federal asset forfeitures.
In 2006, Secretary Chertoff announced a tougher approach to the investigation and prosecution of employer violations. At the February 22, 2008 press conference, he stated that, in fiscal year 2007, ICE made 863 criminal arrests, which included 92 individuals in managerial or supervisory positions. DHS and ICE also made over 4,000 administrative arrests during that period. http://www.greencardfamily.com/news/news2008/news2008_0620.htm