Why Isn't Infosys Being Prosecuted?

I've asked myself that many times...

"...Is not this evidence, given the repeated nature of the company's infractions, sufficient for either the Department of Labor to put Infosys on the debarred list or for the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] to take similar action?"

The answer is unambiguously yes. And the form that action should take is criminal prosecution, both of the corporation as a legal entity, as well as all those Infosys officials individually who are discovered to have participated in this scheme. I can think of at least two federal felony violations that are relevant:

Aiding and Abetting, and Conspiracy to Commit, Visa Fraud. 18 U.S.C. Section 1546 provides in pertinent part that:

Whoever knowingly makes under oath, or ... knowingly subscribes as true, any false statement with respect to a material fact in any application, affidavit, or other document required by the immigration laws. ... Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned ... 10 years (in the case of the first or second such offense, if the offense was not committed to facilitate such an act of international terrorism or a drug trafficking crime).

While this would seem to apply only to the worker-applicant who was advised to lie, two other provisions of the federal criminal code make clear that the company and its officials are also culpable. 18 U.S.C. Section 2 and 18 U.S.C. Section 371, punish anyone who "aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures" commission of a crime, as well as "two or more persons [who] conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States."

Conspiracy to Bring in and Harbor Aliens. This provision of law, found at 8 U.S.C. Section 1324 provides, at subsections (a)(1)(A)(iv) and (v), that:

(A) Any person who ... (iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law; or (v) ... (I) engages in any conspiracy to commit any of the preceding acts, or (II) aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts,shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).

(B) A person who violates subparagraph (A) shall, for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs...in which the offense was done for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. (Emphasis added.)

These federal criminal statutes certainly encompass the situation as it seems to have unfolded in the New York attorney general's lawsuit. What's more, because of that lawsuit, a great deal of the spadework usually required of an investigator has already been done. Such matters fall squarely into the purview of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which itself is a component of DHS.

- LINK