Employers Vow To Hire Legal Workers

Three El Paso companies signed an agreement with the federal government certifying their staffs have been trained to screen out applicants who may not be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Hoy Fox Toyota/Lexus, Mission Chevrolet and Southwest Staffing Inc. received training to identify job seekers who may be using false documents or complete fraudulent benefit applications to get a job.

The program known as “IMAGE” was developed in 2007 and is offered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Aside from offering training on how to spot fake documents, the program also educates businesses on the proper use of the E-Verify program, which provides a link to immigration records and the Social Security Administration database.

“Southwest Staffing is proud to be a part of the ICE IMAGE program. The staffing industry is a very competitive industry and using the E-Verify process offers added security to our clients, as wells as provides us a competitive edge in our industry,” said Sharon Olivarez, president of Southwest Staffing Inc.

Officials see businesses as an extra set of eyes in their efforts to prevent illegal workers from entering the workforce.

“Through this partnership with ICE, these local businesses are ensuring the integrity of their staffs, as well as promoting national security,” said Manual Oyola-Torres, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in El Paso.