Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has extended flexibility for I-9 regulation compliance from December 31, 2020, until January 31, 2021. These regulations regarding verification rules for business’ compliance with I-9 were set in place by ICE on March 19, 2020. This was done in an attempt to provide safety during the pandemic. As a result, ICE allowed remote operations to inspect and verify documentation remotely as opposed to the traditional in-person verification process.
These regulations set by ICE allowed employers to consider expired documentation that had previously been automatically extended through a state or federal agency. ICE eventually revoked the mandate that employees coordinate with the Social Security Administration (SSA) after being notified of a possible non-confirmation of I-9 information. On December 21, 2020, Congress, with the signature of President Donald Trump, passed a new coronavirus stimulus relief bill, which will allow mixed immigration status families to receive aid.
This includes people whose undocumented parents or spouses reside in the U.S. This new stimulus bill excludes the provision that previously disallowed immigrants who pay taxes but cannot obtain a Social Security number from receiving stimulus aid. According to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, 3.7 million U.S. citizens and legally documented immigrant children are part of a mixed-status household. Additionally, 1.4 million U.S. citizens and legally documented immigrants are spouses of undocumented immigrants.
