A theme of many of my recent posts has been the presence and severity of ICE audits and penalties, which could be lessened proactively.  So, far this fiscal year, ICE has issued 2,000 Notices of Inspection to employers around the country and on May 1, 2012, a Washington organic farm, HerbCo International, Inc. was sentenced to $1,000,000 in criminal fines and five years’ probation for hiring, firing, and then rehiring illegal immigrants. In addition, three company executives pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense and were sentenced to one year of probation for aiding and abetting a pattern of employing illegal immigrants. HerbCo rehired undocumented workers for a secret night shift and paid them in cash after informing ICE that it had laid them off. Click here to view the story.