A little known employment verification program run by ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) is spreading throughout San Diego County and the country. IMAGE (ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers) is a relatively new tool for employers in the fight against illegal immigration.
While the E-Verify program is widely known and now used by hundreds of thousands of businesses nationwide to check their employee’s legal eligibility, the IMAGE program goes far beyond fast and easy computer background checks. The IMAGE program ensures that businesses use Homeland Security’s ‘best hiring practices’ to help detect fraudulent documents through education and training.
The IMAGE certification process gives business owners the peace of mind their current employees are legal and customers can see an IMAGE certification sticker in the window (similar to the Better Business Bureau-BBB) to show that the business is complying with all Federal laws.
“IMAGE is a win-win partnership between ICE and the business community,” said Miguel Unzueta, special agent in charge for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego. “The training and education employers enrolled in the IMAGE program receive gives them the tools they need to develop a more secure and stable workforce. And beyond that, each time a new company voluntarily signs up as an IMAGE participant, we are better able to protect lawful workers in this challenging economy.”
The IMAGE program is a free service operated by ICE and takes 4-6 weeks to complete. During the process, the ICE agent makes several visits to the business to conduct on-site training and inspection of the I-9 hiring documents.
Earlier this month, UNICEL Corporation in Escondido, CA became the first business in that city, known nationwide for its strong stance against illegal immigration, to be IMAGE certified.
UNICEL owner Mike Henderson says he was glad to take an active role in combating the number one draw of illegal aliens to the country.
“We are pleased to be IMAGE certified. We learned a lot about what legal documents look like and now feel confident as a business,” Henderson said. “The process was painless, enjoyable and now we will avoid any fines because we have the correct paperwork.”