The number of illegal immigrants in the United States continues to multiply year on year. It is a well known fact that immigrant work for a lesser pay and hiring them can be so attractive to your company. Keep in mind however that if you want to keep your company out of the legal books, you must ensure that the immigrants you hire have all the necessary documents and have been allowed to enter the country legally.

Once you hire an illegal immigrant it can only take so long until the government sniffs them out – which will then result in your company having to go to an immigration law office. The occurrences of offices being caught with employing illegal immigrants is becoming fairly frequent.

Here are a few preventative measures you can take when hiring immigrants at your workplace:

Ensure that the applicant can provide proper documentation. Every single company in the US has a right to request applicants to make available the necessary paperwork to prove that they can in fact work legally in the US. Make a note to HR personnel to ensure the documents are not forged, as that seems to be a frequent occurrence as well.

Have your company attorney check the validity of the documentation provided by the applicant. Once you have hired the applicant and then suspect that he may be an illegal immigrant, do not hesitate to contact your attorney and get the matter sorted out. It is very important that matters like this be solved very cautiously.

Once the documents are provided and things seem ok, and if you are still unsure about the legality of the immigrant – then you can always choose to not hire him. However, do not make this a common practice as you could be sued for discrimination. Ensure that everything is documented, as things could prove to get very complicated.

There has been much debate on the issue of immigration control recently, but it still has not resulted in any action to improve the situation. What has been accomplished is a mere tweaking of the vocabulary from ‘illegal alien’ to ‘undocumented worker’.

This however is not much progress and the bottom-line is that these people have entered the country on illegal grounds and work illegally as well and even go to the length of stealing American citizens’ identities in a bid to keep away the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Take for instance the series of ICE raids carried out against Swift & Company in 2006. The operation results in 1,282 workers being arrested on administrative immigration violations, and out of them, 65 workers were charged with identity theft. The case of illegal immigration has not got any better and this sole case exhibits the extent of legislative breaches. Identity theft is a violation of economic rights as well as privacy.

Employers also share the blame. In 2008, the ICE made over 800 criminal arrests. Of them, 59 were owners while 33 were lower level managers. They were charged with knowingly hiring illegal workers. When compared to the 176 similar arrests made by the ICE in 2006, it is clear how the situation has worsened.

Most arrests are made with ICE cutting deals with illegal immigrants, and with the use of wires, false credentials, tape conversation, incriminating evidence is collected and those guilty of hiring illegal workers are arrested and prosecuted.

States such as Tennessee, Arizona and Mississippi dole out the toughest legislation for illegal immigration. If you are found guilty of hiring illegal immigrants without following legal provisions for verifying an applicant’s status – your business license is immediately revoked.

Concisely, the cheap labour you get out of hiring illegal immigrants is really not worth the risk you place on your business. To ensure you are in line with the law, join the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) programme.

Keep in mind that a collective effort is needed to help solve the issue of illegal immigration. Not only does it put a strain on the economy it also poses a great security threat to the entire nation.