How to Prepare for and navigate ICE enforcement actions

With President Trump’s election, we are now seeing the removal of undocumented immigrants from the country. Our clients are seeing daily news reports about removal operations in major cities. Many of our clients have called us to express their concern about possible enforcement actions by ICE agents in their facilities. The idea of ICE agents taking enforcement actions at workplaces is nothing new. Here are some tips that may be helpful to employers and their employees. Here are some tips for employers and employees who may be concerned. Agents can enter public areas without a warrant. Employees should not interfere with agents in public spaces, as interference will an ICE enforcement action is a crime and could subject your employees to prosecution.

• If ICE has gone so far as to come to your facility to conduct an enforcement action, they likely already have a warrant. If an ICE agent shows you a warrant for a search of your facility, you should not resist. Asking the agents to bring the person they are looking for to the office will help avoid any disruptions. It is certainly of no value to your organization to have ICE agents randomly roaming through your workspace.
• Keep good attendance records and be sure that you know who is at work. Managers should be paying attention to attendance every day. After a raid, agents may not tell you who they have arrested. Take attendance again after enforcement action is completed to be sure you know who was taken into custody.
• Prepare now by making sure your emergency contacts are up to date for all employees. Contact their next of kin if employees are removed from your facility to make arrangements for their children’s school pickups, etc. The next of kin can also contact a lawyer to help the detainee, if they wish to do so. ICE may ask for I-9s, employment records and other documents once employees are detained. Make sure you’re in compliance. Go back and examine supporting documents (if you keep them) to be sure they appear valid on their face.
• Employees who may be detained need to know they can invoke their right to remain silent. They can refuse to sign any document presented by ICE.
• If ICE starts asking authorized workers if there are any undocumented people around, they should invoke their right to remain quiet. Mistakenly identifying someone as illegally working in the United States could result in action being taken against the employee by the person mistakenly identified.
• There is very little you can do to assist individuals who are in the country illegally. We recommend these steps to protect both your business and employees. Please contact us if you have any questions.

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