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Savantis Solutions, LLC, (formerly Vedicsoft Solutions, LLC and Vedicsoft Holdings, LLC) an Edison, New Jersey based corporation involved in consulting, technology and staffing, utilizing primarily foreign nationals in the United States pursuant to H1-B visas, agreed to resolve allegations that the company violated immigration and employment regulations concerning continuous employment and wage requirements.

Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend this policy for an additional 60 days. The expiration date for these accommodations is now November 19, 2020.

Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will further extend this policy for an additional 30 days. The expiration date for these accommodations is now Sept. 19.

This was the largest single-state worksite enforcement operation in our nation’s history, resulting in the detention of 680 illegal aliens and the prosecution of 119 illegal aliens for stealing the identities of American citizens, falsifying immigration documents, fraudulently claiming to be U.S. citizens, and illegal re-entering the country after being deported, among other federal crimes.

Employers are required to monitor the DHS and ICE websites for additional updates regarding when the extensions will be terminated, and normal operations will resume.

Robert James, CFO for Speed Fab-Crete in Kennedale, Texas, was sentenced to three months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $69,000 fine for bringing in and harboring illegal aliens.

On March 19 due to precautions implemented by employers and employees associated with COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would exercise prosecutorial discretion to defer the physical presence requirements associated with the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision, as explained in the guidance below, was implemented for 60 days and was set to expire on May 19.

Employers who were served notices of inspection (NOIs) by ICE during the month of March 2020 and had not already responded were granted an automatic extension for 60 days from the effective date. ICE will grant an additional extension of 30 days to these employers.

Following an investigation by ICE’s HSI and subsequent prosecution from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the EDNY, Yong Min Choe, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens by employing them at his 7-Eleven franchise in Brentwood, New York.

Employers with employees taking physical proximity precautions due to COVID-19 will not be required to review the employee’s identity and employment authorization documents in the employee’s physical presence.

O’Neill Ventures, Inc., a tomato greenhouse and packing plant in O’Neill, Nebraska, entered a felony guilty plea in federal court to conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens. The plea was entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart.

IMAGE is a nationwide program that assists employers, strengthens hiring practices and curtails the employment of unauthorized workers through outreach, education and partnership.

In a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Speed Fab Crete, a Texas-based builder, admitted it illegally employed individuals not authorized to work in the United States, and agreed to forfeit $3 million to the U.S. Treasury for use in promoting law enforcement activities related to immigration enforcement.

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.

Cobb County, founded December 3, 1832, is a suburban county of Atlanta with a population of 760,000. It is Georgia’s third most-populous county. The county employs approximately 5,000 people.

The following four operators were charged with one count of knowingly harboring an illegal alien and one count of knowingly engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring illegal aliens: Dora Kuzelka, 81, of Elgin, Illinois; Kenneth Kuzelka, 62, of Chicago; Kari Kuzelka, 56, of Elgin; and Keith Kuzelka, 58, of Elgin.

SRI Tech Solutions, Inc. has been recognized by Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) employment compliance program called IMAGE at a recent ceremony.

In addition to executing federal search warrants and seizing business records pertaining to the ongoing federal criminal investigation, deportation officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in partnership with HSI detained approximately 680 removable aliens who were unlawfully working at the plants.                                                                     

The DHS E-Verify employment eligibility verification program enables employers to verify that newly hired employees are eligible to work in the United States.

IMAGE stands for ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers. As part of this agreement, STEC USA and Tranor Industries, have pledged to maintain a secure and stable workforce and curtail the employment of unauthorized workers through outreach and education.