The Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) is the agency responsible for reviewing and making final determinations on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) penalty assessments from I-9 inspections. Recently, published cases appear to demonstrate a distinct trend of OCAHO severely reducing ICE’s penalty assessments.
OCAHO is led by a chief administrative hearing officer (CAHO) whose responsibilities include providing program direction, articulating policies and procedures, establishing priorities and, importantly, administering the hearing process presided over by administrative law judges (ALJs).
