{"id":9482,"date":"2017-11-26T18:00:21","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T01:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/?p=9482"},"modified":"2017-11-22T11:33:35","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T18:33:35","slug":"businesses-unsettled-by-daca-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/articles\/general-business-advice\/businesses-unsettled-by-daca-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Businesses Unsettled by DACA Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DACA<\/a>

Photo credit: beebright \/ 123RF Stock Photo<\/p><\/div>\n

By Finance New Mexico<\/em><\/p>\n

Barring congressional intervention, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is ending, and DACA recipients \u2014 or \u201cDreamers\u201d \u2014 are subject to deportation when their work permits expire if they didn\u2019t get an extension before the Oct. 5 deadline.<\/p>\n

The demise of the program has created uncertainty among employers who are required to fire DACA recipients the day after their permits expire but risk discrimination charges if they act too soon to terminate \u2014 or even identify \u2014 DACA recipients on their payrolls.<\/p>\n

Companies risk fines for employing ineligible workers. They\u2019re also advised to prepare carefully for this sudden change in circumstances for up to 800,000 young people whose parents brought them into the United States without proper documentation when they were children.<\/p>\n

A Delicate Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

All employees, regardless of their citizenship status, must fill out an I-9 form and provide multiple forms of identification to verify their eligibility to work in the United States. Noncitizen workers carry papers that authorize them to work here temporarily; the paperwork includes a code that specifies the basis for the permit, but employers are discouraged from using the code to identify DACA recipients.<\/p>\n

Determining who is or isn\u2019t a Dreamer is a sensitive exercise. An employer doesn\u2019t want to risk penalties for keeping an ineligible worker on the payroll, but if he demands to see more paperwork than the worker showed to get the I-9 form or demands to know the worker\u2019s immigration status, the employer could be accused of illegal employment discrimination.<\/p>\n

Firing someone who\u2019s still eligible to work or refusing to hire a Dreamer because her permit might expire soon is illegal, and a DACA recipient isn\u2019t required to disclose that status when applying for a job or after getting the job.<\/p>\n

How to Handle It<\/strong><\/p>\n

Businesses are advised to retain I-9 records of employees whose work permits have expiration dates. When those dates near, the employer can remind the workers that the company needs to see proof of employment eligibility, such as a permit extension, after the permit expires \u2014\u00a0a process called reverification.<\/p>\n

If the business\u2019s records are dated or incomplete, the owner could disseminate a companywide email urging anyone with an expiring work permit to take steps to maintain eligibility.<\/p>\n

If a valued worker discloses that his permit is set to expire, the business could offer a leave of absence in lieu of a pink slip until the worker can provide proof of employment eligibility, until DACA is reinstated or replaced, or until the employee becomes eligible to work by some other route.<\/p>\n

Depending on the worker\u2019s country of origin, she might be eligible for temporary protected status, which was designed to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation to countries they fled due to disease, violence, or natural disasters.<\/p>\n

Local Concern<\/strong><\/p>\n

Business organizations have advocated for quick action to remove the uncertainty surrounding employment of workers affected by DACA. A recent letter to New Mexico\u2019s congressional delegation said, \u201cthe [Santa Fe] Chamber of Commerce urges your support to pass legislation that ensures stability for the DACA \u2018dreamers\u2019 and helps local employers plan and grow their businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until Congress acts, employers are encouraged to talk with an employment law attorney. More information can be found at the following U.S. Department of Homeland Security links: https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2017\/09\/05\/memorandum-rescission-daca<\/a> and https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2017\/09\/05\/frequently-asked-questions-rescission-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Download 530_Businesses Unsettled by DACA Uncertainty<\/a> PDF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Finance New Mexico Barring congressional intervention, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is ending, and DACA recipients \u2014 or \u201cDreamers\u201d \u2014 are subject to deportation when their work permits expire if they didn\u2019t get an extension before … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9482"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9488,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9482\/revisions\/9488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}