The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on July 1, 2009 that I-9 audit notices have been presented to 652 employers across the country. (To read the press release, click here.)

Notwithstanding the Obama Administration’s announcement that it will change the focus of immigration enforcement to concentrate on abusive employers, this announcement reflects a new initiative to step up I-9 enforcement actions.

By contrast, only 503 similar notices were issued during the entire FY2008. The ICE announcement included the point that these employers were not randomly selected but have been identified from leads and other investigative information.

If past experience is a guide, we can expect that at least some of these notices will result in further enforcement actions against the identified employers.