Troopers empowered to check immigration status
Gov. Mitt Romney earlier this month signed an agreement with the federal government that empowers Massachusetts State Police to check people’s residency status, but don’t expect to find troopers at your business’s door asking about your employees any time soon.
Under the agreement, roughly 30 of the state’s 2,400 troopers will receive special training from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on the ins and outs of immigration law enforcement. The officers will come from five special units that target gangs, violent fugitives, drugs, criminal investigations, and community policing.
Kelly Nantel, spokeswoman for the state’s Executive Office of Public safety says those officers will not be looking for illegal immigrants. They will only look into the status of someone they believe is engaged in criminal activity, she says. Romney Spokesman Felix Browne says that businessowners shouldn’t be alarmed that troopers might suddenly show up at their doors and ask questions about employees’ status - unless, of course, there’s criminal activity involved.
They might never even ask those questions at all, says immigration lawyer Kirk Carter of Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple. Carter believes incoming Governor Deval Patrick will rescind the program, which Carter characterizes as a political ploy by Romney.
Still, the pervasive anti-illegal alien sentiment that has gripped much of the nation over the last year should motivate employers to stay vigilant about their employees’ status. His five tips to do so are below.
Five tips to stay on top of employees’ immigration status:
* Complete - and safeguard - an I-9 employment
eligibility form for each new hire
* Know which identifications and documents
you can ask an employee for, but avoid
asking questions that could later be
deemed discriminatory
* Only accept documents that appear to be
genuine: You needn’t guarantee their
authenticity, but must believe in good faith
they’re legitimate
* Beware of "No-Match" letters from the Social
Security Administration: They don’t necessar-
ily mean an employee is an illegal immigrant,
but do require you to check further.
* Create an internal audit system to re-verify
and update employment eligibility paperwork
Kenneth J. St. Onge can be reached at
kstonge@wbjournal.com
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