Mester Manufacturing Company v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Mester Manufacturing Co. (“Mester”) petitions this court for review of an order of an administrative law judge (“AU”) penalizing Mester for violations of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”). Pub.L. No. 99-603, 100 Stat. 3359 (1986) (codified in scattered sections of 8 U.S.C.). We affirm:

I

The Statute

This is the first circuit court review of employer sanctions under IRCA. IRCA is a major change in immigration law; See generally Symposium, Implementation of IRCA, 2 Geo.Immigr.LJ. 447 (1988). IRCA puts part of the burden of compliance upon employers. 8 U.S.C. § 1324a (Supp. V 1987). It is unlawful for an employer knowingly to hire an alien who is unauthorized to be employed in the United States, or to continue to employ an alien in the knowledge that his employment is unauthorized. Id. at § 1324a(a)(l), (2). The statute sets up an employment verification system under which an employer must execute a verification form (“1-9”) attesting, under penalty of perjury, that it has verified that each employee (whether a U.S. citizen or an alien) is not an unauthorized alien by examining the requisite document, or documents, showing identity and employment…