Penalty for having illegal aliens in your employ?

[bobbobbins]

I'm curious what happens if the government finds out you're hiring, have working for you illegal aliens. A friend of mine is in the states with a work visa, and her boss is basically treating her like shit because he knows she needs that to stay in the country. And he says that if she quits he has no choice but to report her, because he has his family to think about.

Now i could be wrong, but don't they just give you a fine?

[eyesroll]

1. If you've done your due diligence -- i.e. checked the documents --

and the person is later discovered to be an illegal alien (perhaps using someone else's documents or really good forgeries) then you won't be held responsible. You're generally not expected to be able to tell the difference between real and convincing fake ID.

Most often, the penalty is a fine, but in extreme cases, the employer can be held criminally liable and serve jail time.

If she has a work visa, then she's legal. If she quits, she's no longer her boss's responsibility in any case, so I don't understand why "his family" would be an issue. (Scare tactics?)

[Sydnie]

2. Obviously, you get nominated to be the head of Homeland Security! LOL

JUst kidding. Couldn't help myself!