I-9 Enforcement & Compliance: A 5-Step Plan for Employers to Mitigate Risk

Form I-9 and the online verification system look simple, but they are full of costly traps for employers. With more funding going to immigration enforcement, now is a good time to make sure your I-9 compliance can stand up to an audit or raid.

Many executives and HR managers assume their I-9 practices are fine when their records and policies actually contain mistakes that can lead to fines, lawsuits and even jail time.

This 90-minute webinar gives you a detailed five-step I-9 compliance plan. It covers internal self-audits, the USCIS-ICE external audit process, each section of the form, common mistakes and how to fix them, retention and storage rules, and practical pointers if immigration officials arrive at your workplace.

• Apply a five-step I-9 compliance plan in your organization
• Explain the civil and criminal penalties for immigration violations
• Avoid common pitfalls in I-9 employment verification
• Complete each section of Form I-9 correctly
• Conduct an internal I-9 self-audit
• Prepare to defend an ICE audit of your I-9s

• A 5-step I-9 compliance plan for employers
• The internal I-9 audit process: finding mistakes before ICE does
• The USCIS-ICE external audit process and how to prepare
• Employer and employee responsibilities when completing Form I-9
• Processing each section of Form I-9 correctly
• Common I-9 mistakes and how to correct them
• Retention and storage rules for I-9 forms
• Civil and criminal penalties for immigration violations
• Proactive ICE audit and raid preparation
• Time for your own I-9 questions

Completing Form I-9 means working through gray areas and confusing instructions, and errors can add up to six-figure liability. ICE changed its enforcement standards in 2026, so some errors once treated as technical may now bring fines.

Penalties in 2026 range from $288 to $2,861 per form for substantive paperwork violations and from $716 to $28,619 per violation for knowingly employing unauthorized workers. HR professionals and business owners will leave knowing how to reduce that exposure.

• HR professionals, and Business owners

Steven G. Meilleur, Ph.D., SPHR – is President, and CEO – of PRAXIS Management Solutions, LLC, a New Mexico-based management consulting firm specializing in human resources, employee relations, leadership, training & organizational development, organizational research and assessment, strategic & operational planning, and non-profit organization management and governance. Dr. Meilleur has more than 40 years of management and executive-level experience in human resources, risk management, and organizational management in the private non-profit public, and private for-profit sectors. 

Dr. Meilleur also serves as Senior Vice-President and Risk Services Consultant for Human Resources and Employment with Poms & Associates, a national risk services and insurance brokerage firm. His previous work experience includes public, private, and nonprofit organizations, in executive and management capacities.

A member of the faculty of the UNM School of Public Administration in the graduate program, Dr. Meilleur teaches in the areas of human resource management, nonprofit organization management, leadership, dispute resolution, organizational change, and human resource development.  He has spoken at numerous conferences and workshops across the country and is a published author in the areas of human resources, marketing, leadership and management development, organizational change and innovation, non-profit organization management, and board development.