What To Do If ICE Comes To Your Workplace

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With the Trump administration increasing efforts to tackle illegal immigration, a lot of businesses are left with questions regarding the procedures surrounding potential raids by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. While resources exist to understand what businesses and individuals should do in cases where these situations arise, locating these resources and providing access to individuals within your organization can be difficult. Alongside this, individuals within your organization may harbor feelings of stress or uncertainty in regards to what to do should ICE agents come to your business.

At Payday HCM, we understand this stress. We want to be able to provide individuals and businesses with the proper resources to ensure they feel ready and prepared in case a scenario like this should arise. There is also a wide variety of resources available for individuals and businesses to access in regards to these kinds of situations, so we wanted to provide a space where some of these resources could exist in one place.

In this article, we’ll discuss what you should do if ICE comes to your workplace. We’ll go over the legal procedures surrounding an ICE raid at a business, the kinds of things you should know and look for, as well as the proceedings surrounding an I-9 audit. By the end of this article, you’ll have a solid collection of resources and knowledge to share with your organization and others as well as a good starting point for continued research on the topic.

In this article, you will learn:

• What To Do If ICE Comes To Your Workplace
• Business and Individual Rights When It Comes to ICE
• How To Prepare for a Potential ICE Raid

What To Do If ICE Comes To Your Workplace

Firstly, we will discuss what procedures you should follow and what you should do if ICE should come to your workplace.

How Will I Know If ICE Is Coming To My Workplace?

Unlike an I-9 audit (which we’ll discuss in detail in a separate article), an ICE raid is an unannounced visit, meaning that ICE agents or officials could arrive at your place at any time without any prior warning to you or your business.

This means it is best practice for businesses to have conversations ahead of time and prepare for a potential ICE raid. Businesses can keep an eye on local news outlets for possible information regarding ICE activity in their local area—be sure any information received is from reputable sources and can be verified for accuracy.

If ICE Comes To Your Workplace

If you do find yourself in a situation where ICE is attempting to enter your workplace, there are a few things you’ll want to know. Firstly, you’ll want to understand which areas of your business are public and private: ICE agents are allowed to enter public areas without any restrictions, whereas private areas require a valid judicial warrant per the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Distinguishing between public and private areas of your business is important as allowing ICE agents to enter into private areas before verifying a valid judicial warrant could be taken as consent for search and seizure in a private area, according to the National Immigrant Law Center.

Judicial vs. Administrative Warrants

If ICE does come to your workplace, they may present you with two different types of warrants: a judicial warrant or an administrative warrant. These sound similar, but they serve two different functions.

A comparison between a judicial warrant (left) and an administrative warrant (right). Warrant photos courtesy of the National Immigration Law Center.

A judicial warrant is a warrant issued by a judicial court that allows for a law enforcement officer (in this case, an ICE agent) to perform an arrest, seizure, or search. As stated above, these warrants are required for ICE agents to enter private areas of a business. They can be issued by a federal or state court, such as the U.S. District Court, and will be signed by a judge or magistrate judge. Here is an example of a judicial warrant.

An administrative warrant is a formal written document that authorizes a law enforcement officer to perform an arrest or seizure. Unlike a judicial warrant, these warrants are issued by a federal agency and can be signed by an immigration judge or officer. Here is an example of an administrative warrant.

An administrative warrant does not allow ICE agents to search private areas of a business. If ICE agents do come to your workplace, it is important to verify the type of warrant to ascertain the scope of what the ICE agents legally can and cannot do.

If an ICE agent presents an administrative warrant, the employer is not legally required to say whether that employee is working that day or to lead the agents to the employee. If ICE agents attempt to stop, question, detain, or arrest an employee, the employee is not required to hand over any documents and is allowed to remain silent per their Fifth Amendment rights. Judicial warrants must be complied with.

Business and Individual Rights When It Comes to ICE

It’s important to know what your rights are as an individual as well as what your rights are when it comes to your business.

Individual Rights When Interacting with ICE

When interacting with ICE agents, you are entitled to your rights within the scope of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. As stated above, you are entitled to your right to remain silent if ICE agents do attempt to stop or question you, and you are not obligated to hand over any documents unless outlined by a judicial warrant.

Under the Sixth Amendment, you are also entitled to the right to an attorney. If at any point you feel it is necessary to contact legal counsel, or if you feel you must contact legal counsel at the point of ICE’s arrival, you are entitled to do so.

Business Rights During an ICE Raid

As stated above, ICE agents cannot enter private areas of a business without a judicial warrant. This means it is important to verify what kind of warrant—if any—ICE agents entering your business may have so that you can have a better understanding of what rights are afforded to you given the situation.

In situations where employers may be presented with an administrative warrant, you are not obligated to tell ICE agents whether an employee is working that day, nor are you obligated to lead them to the employee. While employees do have the right to remain silent when interacting with ICE agents, business owners should not instruct employees not to cooperate with ICE.

How To Prepare For A Potential ICE Raid

There are a number of steps businesses can take to prepare for a potential raid by ICE agents.

Designating a Representative and Contacting Legal Counsel

While educating your entire organization is a good course of action to take in preparation for a potential raid by ICE agents, it is also good practice to designate a member of your organization to serve as a representative and steward of knowledge regarding employee rights and what to do in these situations. If ICE should come to your business, contact this representative immediately to ensure proper steps are taken.

Establishing contact with legal counsel could also be a step businesses can take in preparation for an ICE raid. As with the representative, counsel can be contacted if ICE should arrive at your workplace. Conversations about whether this step is necessary should be discussed with members of your organization.

Educating Employees and Providing Resources

Employers should educate their employees on the procedures surrounding what to do during an ICE raid and their rights when interacting with ICE agents. Company-wide emails, round-table discussions, and printed materials are all options when it comes to disseminating information within your organization.

The National Immigration Law Center provides resources surrounding what individuals and businesses should know about a potential ICE raid. Employers can also review the ICE website for more information regarding the organization and its processes. The American Immigration Lawyers Association also has resources available.

Continue to Educate and Stay Prepared

Given increased efforts to combat illegal immigration, businesses may be left wondering what the proper laws and procedures are surrounding potential raids by ICE agents. These questions may be felt by the individuals within a business as well, leading to businesses seeking additional information regarding best practices in these types of situations. With the information provided in this article, you are now equipped with a general overview of what to do should ICE come to your workplace and the steps you can take in preparation for a situation like this.

Of course, continued research and acquisition of resources can be key to ensuring that the information you have or provide to other members of your business is up-to-date and accurate. The National Immigration Law Center keeps an updated resource center, and the ICE official website also has a newsroom that is continually updated.