USCIS & DOJ Partner to Protect U.S. Workers

Early this month, a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) was released to the public. The memo announces new measures between the two agencies to increase information exchange to achieve the mutual goal of protecting U.S. workers. Together, the agencies aim to adhere to President Trump’s drive for the prioritization of U.S. workers over any class of foreign labor.

Purpose

Under the Department of Justice, the Immigrant and Employees Rights section of the Civil Rights Division, among other things, works to protect workers through prosecuting employers who violate civil rights statutes or executive orders that prohibit discrimination based on nationality or citizenship status. Under the authority of USCIS, the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, among other things, investigates employers for potential “civil and criminal violations of immigration laws.” Together, these agencies accumulate a breadth of information focused on the prevention and cessation of employer discrimination based on nationality and immigration status.

To comply with outlook of President Trump’s Buy American Hire American executive order, both the Fraud Detection and National Directorate (under USCIS) and the Immigrant and Employees Rights section (under the DOJ) will now actively share data as it pertains to ending the “potential misuse of the employment-based immigrant and/or nonimmigrant visa programs.” The two agencies hope to protect qualified U.S. workers who are sometime vulnerable to discrimination by employers who prioritize foreign born workers. This collaboration expands upon a previous agreement between USCIS and the DOJ, which sought to share information regarding the E-Verify process. The memo marks a new wave of data sharing that will enable the two entities to collaborate. The Director of USCIS, L. Francis Cissna stated, “This agreement enhances the level of coordination among investigators who often work on the same issues at different agencies.”

Implications

Although there are some cases of discrimination against U.S. workers, employers often seek foreign national workers to fulfill droughts in the qualified labor force. Through data sharing, there may be a greater level of scrutiny, both from USCIS and the DOJ, towards employers who depend on foreign labor.