The Trump administration’s high-profile crackdown on undocumented immigrants has included businesses — and experts say there’s a lot business owners need to know if federal agents show up at a workplace.
Reports from across the country show a wide-ranging and ongoing enforcement effort, with more than 1,000 people arrested as of the time of this article, according to data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Trump pledged in his inauguration address to deport "millions" of undocumented people living in the United States.
Natalia Polukhtin, an employment-based immigration attorney at Scottsdale, Arizona-based Global Practice, said employers have good reason to be concerned.
She cited a June 2024 announcement by the Department of Homeland Security that increased the fines employers are subject to on matters of immigration status, calling for fines ranging from $281 to $2,789 per worker for paperwork violations, and between $698 and $5,579 for first offenses for knowingly employing an undocumented worker.
“With known history of Trump administration favoring corporations over small businesses, it is feasible to suggest that the first victims of the enforcement will be small employees often having very informal employment verification practices and thus, possibly found in violations,” Polukhtin said in an email. “We are likely to see publicized cases of prosecution and significant penalties imposed on small motels, restaurants, landscaping and agricultural businesses.”
Many of those owners might not realize that places of business have different rules about warrants than private homes do, said immigration attorney Eric Mark, founder of the Newark, New Jersey-based Law Office of Eric M. Mark.
For example, law enforcement cannot go through records or secured private areas of a business without a warrant, but if a workplace is open to the public, such as a warehouse or a worksite with an open gate, or a restaurant, immigration and customs enforcement can walk in “just like any other person,” Mark said in an email.
That puts business owners in a precarious position.
“Actions against employers may result in big fines and asset seizures. Also, any raid of an employer could result in arresting individuals, as well,” Mark said.
Ian Wagreich, a partner and business-related immigration law specialist for businesses at law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, said business owners can take this moment to be better prepared for any possible investigation and make sure they are compliant to the fullest extent they can or want to be.
He stressed that there are two main entities that might knock on the door of your business — one being Homeland Security Investigations, the other Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While every situation is different — and business owners should be prepared to have an attorney available — there are some best practices and circumstances to have in mind.
That includes:
1. Checking the warrant or subpoena. Homeland Security needs a valid warrant signed and dated by a judge, Wagreich said, and sometimes what is offered up is not signed or is an internal document. A warrant should be signed and should provide a description of what is being sought.
2. Write down all pertinent information on the warrant, including the supervising agent and the name of the U.S. attorney on the case.
3. Contact your lawyer. Give them the warrant information, as they will be your advocate as the investigation continues.
4. Owners can accept the warrant but not consent to the search, Wagreich said. Agents will still conduct the search, but if your attorney challenges the search later on, that will be important.
5. Agents can shut down equipment and require that no one leave without permission. They also can move employees to a separate area for questioning.
6. A representative of the company can follow the agents around the facility as they conduct their investigation. For any item seized, the representative can make a note and ask for copies of any documents taken, or ask to make copies themselves. That may help your attorney later on. Agents might say no.
7. Owners do not have to let agents into areas not covered by the warrant. They also can object to any part of the search outside the grounds of the warrant, but owners cannot interfere. If, however, it’s covered by the warrant, even if it’s locked, owners need to let agents in, Wagreich said.
8. Don’t let yourself be interrogated by a federal agent without consulting with a lawyer, Wagreich said. Employees don’t have to talk to federal agents directly either. The owner can ask if employees are free to leave — and if not, they can ask for lawyers as well.
Have your paperwork in order
Business owners also need to make sure they have their employment paperwork in order, Wagreich said, as agents are likely to audit I-9 employment eligibility verification forms from businesses. Those sorts of audits were far fewer in 2024 than in years prior, as most enforcement was focused on the border, but they likely will increase as immigration officials conduct more domestic operations.
I-9 audits in Trump’s first term were at “all-time highs,” according to law firm Littler Mendelson. I-9 audit investigations grew from 5,981 in fiscal 2018 to 6,450 in fiscal 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic severely cut the number of audits. The average number of audits during the administrations of President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama was between 3,000 to 3,500 annually.
Many of the audits or investigations by immigration agents begin with a disgruntled former employee, Wagreich said.
Business owners normally have three days to produce employment documents, although they can ask for an extension (and sometimes have that extension be denied), Wagreich said.
While owners need to ensure they have completed those forms, they are not required to verify the authenticity of all the documents provided.
“They don’t expect you to be a forensic document analyst,” Wagreich said. “But If you are not doing the I-9 paperwork at all, then I think you are in danger. That's where the criminal liability starts.”
Employers should do regular internal audits of their I-9 forms — ideally by a third-party that can point out potential issues — and make sure a trusted employee is in charge of that paperwork. Errors found can be fixed.
Businesses are required to have employment paperwork for every worker employed at the company or, if they are no longer at the company, for three years from an employee's start date or one year after the date of their termination, whichever is later. After that time, the documents can be destroyed, Wagreich said.
Businesses that keep documents for longer than they have to can be on the hook for fines related to that paperwork even if the employee no longer works there, he added.
As immigration enforcement ramps up, Wagreich said industries such as agriculture, light manufacturing and hospitality are going to have to deal with potential fallout from their workforce.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens to those industries if people stop showing up for work because they are afraid of these sorts of investigations,” Wagreich said.
While employers can sign up for the federal immigration verification system E-verify, they do not have to do so unless mandated by specific situations, such as being a federal contractor or through state regulations, said Irina Plumlee, shareholder at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC.
“The most immediate effect on the U.S. employers of these workers would be loss of workforce and resulting labor shortages,” Plumlee said. “This includes hospitality, construction, meat and poultry producers, and other manual, labor-intensive industries.”