A group of legal experts is sounding the alarm that noncompliant electronic Form I-9 vendors could put unsuspecting employers at risk.

President Donald Trump has not minced words about his plan to crack down on illegal immigration, and employers are taking notice. The administration has begun workplace raids and stakeholders predict an increase in audits of Form I-9s, the documents used to verify whether an employee is eligible to work in the U.S.

In the days following Trump’s inauguration, however, voices in the immigration compliance community have been increasingly sounding an alarm about a vulnerability of which many employers may be unaware: their Form I-9 vendors.

Form I-9 goes online

Form I-9 compliance involves multiple variables, one of which is how the form is filled out. Both employers and employees must complete certain sections of the form. Traditionally, an employer representative sits down with a new hire in person to collect and review the employee’s documents that establish identity and employment authorization, which may include some combination of a government ID, a passport, a green card or similar items.

But some aspects of the process have become more electronically driven in recent years, thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporarily permitted employers to review authorization documents remotely. ICE then made remote authorization a permanent option for E-Verify participants in good standing in 2023.

Electronic solutions that aid with Form I-9 completion and recordkeeping had also become increasingly common well before the pandemic, according to David Adams, account executive at background check provider SafestHires, which does not have its own Form I-9 product. These tools, offered by HR information systems vendors, law firms and other third parties, are sold on the premise of streamlining what can be a time- and resource-intensive process for employers.

Adams and others who spoke to HR Dive said they are concerned after having seen multiple platforms produce electronic I-9s that do not comply with federal regulations — opening the potential for infractions that the Trump administration is likely to uncover.

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Source : https://www.hrdive.com/news/form-i9-immigration-threat-trump/739061/