Immigration Compliance: How to Respond to Social Security Administration ‘No-Match’ Letters and Similar Notices

The Social Security Administration recently began mailing so-called “no-match” notices to employers who reported employee name and Social Security Number combinations that do not match SSA records. These “no-match” notices put employers between “a rock and a hard place” from a labor and employment perspective. On the one hand, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses an employer’s failure to properly respond to a “no-match” letter to show “constructive knowledge” of an employee’s unauthorized status. On the other hand, overzealous responses could lead to employment discrimination claims with the Department of Justice, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (DOJ).