As required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, the Department of Homeland Security Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), through the Federal Register, announced increases for penalties under the Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA), effective January 2, 2025. The higher penalties are for those cases where the penalties are assessed on February 13, 2024, and thereafter. These increases were about 1%, which is similar to the 2024 increases due to inflation.
Below are the offenses with the old and new penalties:
|
Type of IRCA Violation
|
Old Fine
|
New Fine
|
|
Substantive Form I-9 violations – minimum
|
$281
|
$288
|
|
Substantive Form I-9 violations – maximum
|
$2,789
|
$2,861
|
|
Knowingly employing undocumented – 1st order
|
$698 to $5,579
|
$716–$5,724
|
|
Knowingly employing undocumented – 2nd order
|
$5,579 to $13,946
|
$5,724–$14,308
|
|
Knowingly employing undocumented – subsequent
|
$8,369 to $27,894
|
$8,586–$28,619
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((1)-(4)) – 1st order
|
$575 to $4,610
|
$590–$4,730
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((1)-(4)) –subsequent order
|
$4,610 to $11,524
|
$4,730–$11,823
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((5)-(6)) – 1st order
|
$487 to $3,887
|
$500–$3,988
|
|
Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((5)-(6)) – subsequent order
|
$3,887 to $9,718
|
$3,988-$9,970
|
|
Prohibition of indemnity bonds
|
$2,789
|
$2,861
|
With an expected surge in ICE I-9 audits and ICE raids, employers should pay careful attention to their I-9 forms and conduct an internal I-9 audit to remediate, as much as possible, any I-9 errors. Such an internal I-9 audit could save an employer substantial money if audited by ICE. Employers are advised to contact their immigration or employment counsel with questions about the above.
