DHS Watch : Arrest of Hundreds of Wal-Mart Employees
Posted Oct 31, 2003

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that it arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants working for various Wal-Mart stores in more than 20 states in the U.S. on October 23, 2003. These arrests are a part of ICE's campaign to deter employers from hiring illegal immigrants. The individuals, who were arrested as they finished their night shift cleaning jobs on October 23, 2003, will be put into removal proceedings and will have to appear before a U.S. immigration judge. If these individuals are unable to establish a claim for immigration relief, they will be removed from the United States.

Contracted Workers through Outside Companies

The individuals arrested were members of cleaning crews hired through outside contractors. In general, the need to verify employment eligibility is the responsibility of the direct employer (the cleaning company) and not the employer that uses the outside services. However, ICE claims that Wal-Mart knew that the workers did not have legal authorization to accept employment. Wal-Mart denies these charges. According to news reports, Wal-Mart uses more than 100 third-party contractors to clean their stores nationwide. The spokesperson for the company stated that they require those contractors to use legal workers.

Employees Must Complete I-9 Forms

Employers must have their employees complete the I-9 work authorization form and remember to check for re-authorization for workers who have a type of authorization that expires, such as an H1B or Employment Authorization Document (EAD). In light of the Wal-Mart raids, companies may wish to review and revise their policies regarding the use of company contractors.