There are few issues in American politics and business where tensions have been as lasting or as passionate as immigration. The last few years have seen a massive rise in the prosecution of undocumented workers and their employers. And while the evolution of regulations and enforcement hinges on the election, public opinion and more pressing economic matters, that doesn’t mean companies can let their guard down in complying with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regulations. The risk to the company brand and the bottom line are very real.

For example, while in the midst of a tight reelection, US Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) is struggling with allegations about his family business’ hiring of illegal workers splashed across the headlines. And who could forget the sting operation that uncovered undocumented workers in Wal-Mart stores? Nevermind the fact that those illegal workers were actually employed by a 3rd party services vendor Wal-Mart had hired for custodial work. That important nuance was lost in the news, Wal-Mart paid the PR price and also incurred a hefty settlement.

But there are steps companies can take to lower the risk and we will be discussing them in a webinar on Tuesday, September 23rd at noon (EDT) (sign up here). The discussion will focus on identifying risk and reducing that risk with technology and the contracting process. The experiences and lessons learned from working with Wal-Mart to implement their improved process will also be a major focus of the webinar.

In Wal-Mart’s case, the key has been to identify the highest risk service vendors by utilizing a risk analysis model and craft a supplier management process, supported by technology, to mitigate their supplier risk. With so many services vendors, Wal-Mart needed an efficient, scalable process and a system of accountability. So they focused on services contracts, supported by an online system that captures extensive vendor information and manages the service agreeements through their lifecycle.

Sounds pretty simple, but it required extensive work across IT, procurement, legal, communications, risk management, training and individual stakeholders to develop the solution and then ensure those departments and their vendors comply with regulations.

Wal-Mart’s transformation has been impressive and the project has been extremely interesting to work on. So, if you consider ICE compliance a risk, I certainly think the webinar will provide some valuable information.

Ryan Flynn, a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Supply Chain and Operations Practice, has over seven years of experience leading executive-level engagements for global Consumer Business and Manufacturing companies. Ryan focuses primarily in sourcing and procurement, and his functional expertise includes procurement strategy and transformation, strategic sourcing, policy/process re-engineering, spend management system design/ implementation, organizational design, and indirect cost reduction.