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FAQ

For Reporting State Contractors Suspected of Employing Illegal Immigrants

  1. I know of a business currently under state contract that employs illegal immigrants. What steps should I take to report them?

  2. I know of a business that employs illegal immigrants but does not have a state contract. How can I report them?

  3. I'm aware of a business currently under state contract that employs illegal immigrants, but I'm not sure whether those illegal immigrants work on the state contract or not. What should I do?

  4. What does Executive Order 41 cover specifically?

  5. What will happen to a business if the state discovers them to have knowingly used illegal immigrants to work on a state contract?
  1. The first step is to make every reasonable effort to gather as much information supporting your claim as possible. The state must prioritize complaints based on the amount and quality of information provided by the complainant. Therefore complaints that include all requested information are much more likely to be investigated than those that do not.
    Next, download the Citizen Complaint form by clicking here. Print the form, fill-in the requested information in the fields provided, and sign it. By signing the form you are attesting that your complaint is made in good faith and that all information included therein is both valid and truthful to the best of your knowledge.
    Finally, once all fields have been filled-in and the form has been signed by you the complainant (i.e., the person officially filing the complaint), make a copy of the completed form for your records and mail it to the physical mailing address provided on the form.


  2. The Governor's Executive Order 41 applies only to businesses contracting with the State of Tennessee executive branch agencies. Click here for a list of State of Tennessee executive branch agencies and web links. Any and all other complaints regarding illegal immigration may be reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.


  3. Before submitting a complaint to the state, it is your responsibility to make every reasonable effort in determining whether the alleged illegal immigrants do, in fact, work on a state contract. Once this information has been gathered to the best of your ability, download and print the Citizen Complaint form here and follow the steps outlined above.
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  4. The Governor's Executive Order prohibits those who do business with any Executive Branch agency of the state from knowingly using the services of illegal immigrants in the performance of a contract for goods or services entered into with the state or a state entity. Contractors must attest in writing at the time of a contract that they will not knowingly utilize the services of illegal immigrants in the performance of the contract, and will not knowingly utilize the services of any subcontractor who will utilize the services of illegal immigrants in the performance of the contract. A copy of Executive Order may be found at: http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/governor/AdminCMSServlet?action=viewFile &id=871 or by clicking here.


  5. The contractor would be considered in breach of their contract with the state, and would thus be subject to any number of contractual remedies by the state including termination of the contract and up to one-year debarment from the list of approved state contractors. A copy of the relevant contract language may be found at: http://www.state.tn.us/finance/doc_Files/Contract_Language.pdf or by clicking here

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