A recurrent issue encountered in ICE worksite enforcement investigations today is the abuse of the Social Security card by individuals seeking to satisfy the work authorization requirements mandated by federal law. The Social Security card has long been a favorite of fraudulent document vendors. In fact, immigration fraud investigators have coined the term "three pack" to refer to the frequently encountered fraudulent document combination of the Social Security card, the state driver's license or identity card, and a work authorization document.

A common Social Security card fraud theme is for individuals without work authorization to assume the identity of persons with valid identity and work authorization documents to establish employment eligibility during the I-9 process.

ICE is issuing this worksite enforcement advisory to make employers aware of significant fraud trends encountered by the law enforcement community so that employers do not inadvertently facilitate acts of identity theft within their own workforce. ICE, in cooperation with other federal agency partners, such as the Social Security Administration, USCIS and the Federal Trade Commission are working together to enhance efforts to protect and promote the integrity of the Social Security number.

ICE investigators have found that many aliens who are not authorized to work in the United States claim to be U.S. citizens when completing the Form I-9 and use authentic Social Security numbers that belong to U.S. citizens. In one investigation, ICE conducted an I-9 audit of an employer and discovered that most of the workforce claimed U.S. citizenship even though the industry historically employs a large percentage of non-U.S. citizens.

Keying in on this anomaly, ICE determined that many of the workers had supplied the employer with Social Security numbers issued from one particular non-local jurisdiction—in this particular case, Puerto Rico. This fact is significant because prior immigration investigations have determined that "document mills" frequently use Social Security numbers that seemingly originate in one jurisdiction and that unauthorized aliens frequently use "breeder documents" such as the Social Security card and birth certificate as a stepping stone to obtain valid state identity documents as a means to escape detection by law enforcement and employers.

No one knows your work force better than you. When you customarily hire aliens with authorization to work in the U.S. and you notice your employees claiming to be U.S. citizens in numbers that strike you as abnormally high or atypical for your region and/or industry, you should consider contacting your local ICE office.

As noted above, investigations by ICE have uncovered schemes by local document vendors who traffic in legitimate identification documents belonging to U.S. citizens, typically from one particular state, possession or territory. If you notice that your new hires are suddenly presenting identical documentation (birth certificates, or driver's licenses, for example), from one particular state, possession or territory (or locality), this may warrant further inquiry by discussing with the employee his or her connection with the particular issuing entity, or by contacting ICE for further information.

Employers are reminded that it is unlawful to discriminate against employees based upon their national origin, including "foreign" appearance or accent, with respect to hiring, firing, and the terms and conditions of employment. See Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, it is unlawful to discriminate based upon citizenship or immigration status against U.S. citizens or nationals, refugees, asylees, or lawful permanent residents, with respect to hiring, firing, or employment verification. See the Immigration and Nationality Act's anti-discrimination provision, 8 U.S.C.§ 1324b. Additionally, the employer should not request more or different documents or refuse to honor documents that appear genuine and relate to the individual.