Massachusetts company partners with ICE

MARLBORO, Mass. — Trident Environmental Group LLC has partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) employment compliance program, IMAGE, or "ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers."

"It is my pleasure to welcome Trident to our IMAGE family," said Bruce M. Foucart, special agent in charge of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Boston. "Employers who make a commitment to hire and maintain a lawful workforce, are not only making a responsible decision for their business, but for the nation as well. Our agency actively pursues partnership with those employers that want to comply with employment eligibility verification requirements throughout New England. By partnering with ICE, employers receive invaluable training and the tools necessary to ensure a lawful workforce."

Trident is an environmental services group that provides a wide range of facilities including: construction and demolition services, emergency response and waste consolidation. Some of their work includes assistance with the Gulf Coast oil spill and Hurricane Sandy cleanup.

"Trident Environmental Group LLC is pleased to enter into partnership with ICE as part of the IMAGE program," said William W. Nineve, president of Trident Environmental Group. "We feel this partnership separates Trident from its competitors by ensuring an employment integrity which promotes a legal workforce. It is important for us to provide a healthy, safe and productive workforce for our rapidly growing environmental service company especially during our national emergency response activities."

IMAGE program

Undocumented workers create vulnerabilities in today's marketplace by presenting false documents to gain employment, completing applications for fraudulent benefits and stealing identities of legal United States workers. To combat this, ICE initiated the IMAGE program in 2006. As part of the IMAGE program, ICE provides employers with education and training on proper hiring procedures, including use of employment screening tools such as E-Verify. IMAGE certified employers also undergo an audit of their I-9 forms to ensure current employees are eligible to work in the United States.

Employers that are certified with ICE through the IMAGE program pledge to maintain a secure and stable workforce and curtail the employment of unauthorized workers through outreach and education. ICE recently revamped IMAGE, simplifying program requirements.

E-Verify

All IMAGE members must participate in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) E-Verify employment eligibility verification program. Through this program, employers can verify that newly hired employees are eligible to work in the United States. This Internet-based system is available throughout the nation and is free to employers. It provides an automated link to the Social Security Administration database and DHS immigration records.

HSI worksite investigations

Effective worksite enforcement plays an important role in the fight against illegal immigration. HSI has developed a comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy that promotes national security, protects critical infrastructure and targets employers who violate employment laws or engage in abuse or exploitation of workers.

An effective worksite enforcement strategy must address both employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, as well as the workers themselves. In worksite cases, HSI investigators adhere to high investigative standards, including the following:

• HSI will look for evidence of the mistreatment of workers, along with evidence of trafficking, smuggling, harboring, visa fraud, identification document fraud, money laundering and other such criminal conduct; and
• HSI will obtain indictments, criminal arrests or search warrants, or a commitment from a U.S. attorney's office to prosecute the targeted employer before arresting employees for civil immigration violations at a worksite.
• HSI also works with the private sector to educate employers about their responsibilities to hire only authorized workers and how to accurately verify employment eligibility, through such tools as the IMAGE program.

I-9 audits

Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual's identity and employment eligibility document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual. Additionally, an employer must ensure that the employee provides certain information regarding his or her eligibility to work, on the Form I-9.

"HSI will continue to hold employers accountable for hiring and maintaining a legal workforce," added Foucart. "We encourage employers to take the employment verification process seriously, as we expand the number of audits we are conducting throughout New England each year. HSI will continue to focus its attention on employers that are knowingly employing illegal workers."

Employers – non-profits, companies and municipalities – in the New England area that are interested in the IMAGE program can call HSI Boston at 617-565-6286, or visit www.ICE.gov/IMAGE.