Over the past several months, we’ve heard growing concerns from HR and operations leaders who are seeing a noticeable uptick in immigration-related activity, including both scheduled and unannounced visits from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE may visit a workplace for many reasons, including:
- Issuing a Notice of Inspection to audit I-9 Forms
- Looking for or investigating employees (individual or groups)
- Conducting a worksite enforcement action, commonly known as a raid
This increased scrutiny is prompting employers to ask a critical question: Are we truly prepared if ICE visits our facility?
To help organizations stay compliant and composed during such high-stakes situations, here is a comprehensive breakdown of what companies should have in place before an ICE workplace visit occurs.
1. Ensure your documentation is in order
Start by reviewing your Form I-9 compliance procedures. A few essential steps:
- Designate responsibility: Appoint a team or individual to manage I-9 documentation.
- Audit internally (with caution): Conduct an internal inventory of I-9s to identify missing forms or updates to work authorization, but avoid unsupervised audits without legal guidance, as they can worsen liability.
- Know the rules for electronic I-9s: If you use electronic systems, ensure you're adhering to requirements for storage, digital signatures, and access.
- Train for detection: Equip the I-9 team to recognize both valid and potentially fraudulent documents.
- Engage expert counsel: A legal partner can ensure the audit is privileged and remediation is compliant and effective.
2. Partner with immigration legal experts to create a formal preparedness plan
There is only so much preparation a facility can do without the aid of legal experts who know exactly what to do when immigration services visit your facility. With legal council, you should:
- Outline clear steps to reduce confusion and ensure everyone's rights are upheld. That plan should include:
- Directions on the level of cooperation the company will offer to ICE
- What information managers or supervisors may be providing to nonsupervisory staff during a visit or enforcement action
- Share the legal plan with relevant team members (supervisors, managers or others) who may have responsibilities in case of a visit and how they can communicate the plan to other employees.
Creating a plan with experts ahead of time will provide clarity and confidence in your team. Legal expertise also ensures your company's plan is prioritizing protection for the business and your employees.
3. Establish communication procedures
If ICE comes to your facility, they'll be interacting with more than just your HR and management team. Maybe they'll come through a gate where they'll meet with security, or they'll speak with a receptionist at the front desk. In any case, it's vital that you have a clear procedure for how to communicate the situation and next steps for those who may interact with immigration services agents.
- Assign responsibilites for HR, management, security, reception, and anyone else who may interact with immigration services, should they visit.
- Designate executives or managers to meet agents at the entrance and accompany them throughout the workplace.
- Ensure the staff assigned to address ICE understands their rights and responsibilities during an ICE visit.
- Create a response cheat sheet to the frontline staff with simple steps in the event of a visit: who to call (such as designated representatives mentioned above), where to direct agents, how to engage, etc.
4. Train and equip staff proactively
Training staff on how to handle ICE should they visit your facility is more than just a chain of communication. You need to inform, train, and work with your team on:
- Training your security, reception, and other key frontline staff on how to identify government agents
- How to verify agents' credentials
- Identifying and clarifying the purpose of their visit
- Their rights in communicating with ICE agents as individuals
- Continuing education as immigration policy changes with updates via memo or email, so employees are aware of any changes
- Prepare materials on any state-specific mandates
- Understanding necessary documentation (e.g., what constitutes a valid warrant versus an administrative subpoena) and how to respond appropriately, whether by company policy or the company legal team
While preparing for a potential visit from ICE can be an undertaking, being unprepared is far riskier. Building a structured and legally vetted plan, and ensuring your team is confident in their roles, can make all the difference. In today’s regulatory climate, proactive preparation isn’t just smart - it’s essential.
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