I-9 Forms and Employer Sanctions: The Use of Document Investigations to Make it Harder for Undocumented Immigrants to Work.

Employer sanctions, for hiring of unauthorized immigrants, varied in levels of use, in conjunction with worksite raids or without them, during recent presidential administrations. After a lapse in use of employer sanctions during the Bush administration, which prioritized demonstrative and sensationalized workplace raids, the Obama administration stepped up use of administrative and financial sanctions and did not utilize raids. Throughout both administrations, the e-verify document system has continued to grow, appearing to make it harder for unauthorized workers to hold down jobs on payrolls. Nevertheless, the sheer number of businesses, large and small, operating in the U.S. make it unlikely, given ICE's diverse duties, that a threshold will be reached to produce a dramatic impact on employers or undocumented workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]