In the previous Trump administration, we saw worksite enforcement and worksite raids increase by thousands as compared to the last years of the Obama administration. Seven days in, the new Trump administration appears to be no friendlier to immigrants than it was previously, and indeed seems to be ramping up enforcement efforts much more quickly than it did previously. In light of this, I think it is important for employers to take stock of what preventative measures they can take to reduce stress and liability in the event that they were to be caught up in one of these intensified enforcement actions.
A few tips:
The first is to conduct internal audits of your I-9 forms. Every employee who has been onboarded should have gone through the Employment Eligibility Verification process and thus had a Form I-9 filled out on their behalf. These forms, while short and sometimes overlooked, can carry massive liability for employers—hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in some instances. The easy fix for this is to conduct an internal audit of your I-9s to ensure that 1) you are able to correct any mistakes able to be corrected; 2) you identify systems or procedures that you may need to changes; and 3) you demonstrate that you are trying to comply with these laws in good faith (which is really the point of the process in the end). Sometimes these audits can be complicated, so if you’d like a third party to look things over, please feel free to give us a call.
The second relates to ICE “Raids.” Depending on your field, your business may be more or less likely to have ICE conduct a “Worksite Inspection” on you, which can be a massive disruption in business, and incredibly stress both you and your workers. It is important to develop a plan on how to respond to these worksite enforcement actions and protocols for how to interact with ICE agents. Management and front desk personnel should know what to do if and when this happens, who to call, what questions to ask, and what rights and responsibilities they, and your workers, have in one of these situations. Again, if you’d like to discuss what one of these enforcement actions looks like, or if you’d like help in developing a more in-depth plan for reacting to this disruptive event, please give us a call.
The third is less an action, and more an ongoing responsibility in my view. Things are evolving rapidly, and so if you have any immigrant employees that you work with or who work for you, it is incredibly important to stay abreast of the likely rapid-fire policy changes that will be occurring. These changes may necessitate quick pivots in immigration strategy, or may require additional measures to be taken for you as a business to ensure compliance. What was policy yesterday may not be policy tomorrow, and it is incumbent on you as an employer to know what the lay of the land is—even if you need not go as in depth as your attorney does.
Finally, while there are certainly additional steps that can and should be taken, in the interest of brevity what is perhaps most important is to support your affected employees. Immigrant employees may be significantly more stressed about their situation or their family’s situation, even if there is objectively nothing at issue in their or their family’s cases. It is an intensely emotional and stressful time for immigrants in the United States, and so whether your employees are students at the beginning of their immigration journey, those weathered by decades of visa renewals, or even naturalized citizens, they are likely needing your support. Sometimes it isn’t ICE raids and visa denials that have the greatest impact on your business and workforce.
