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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is part of the Department of Homeland Security. They are likely to visit your business for one of three reasons: to perform an I-9 audit; to conduct a targeted enforcement operation or ICE raid; or to detain specific people for whom they have a judicial warrant.

You cannot wait until ICE is at your door to prepare. The presence of ICE agents can be intimidating and disruptive. They will wear uniforms that might say “ICE POLICE.” They are the law enforcement authority of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm of DHS. They may have badges and carry weapons like other law enforcement officers. They are limited by the power of the Department of Homeland Security to conduct an audit or execute a warrant signed by a judge, that specifically describes the scope of their rights on your property.

ICE RAID

What is an ICE raid? If your business is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, then ICE agents come to your worksite without warning.

ICE agents are not police officers. Their uniforms may say “Police” or “Federal Agent.” They may carry guns. Sometimes local police officers go with ICE agents on ICE raids. Agents may come to your business looking for a particular person (or people). While they are there, they may try to question, detain, and even arrest other people.

WHEN ICE ARRIVES

Reception or Lobby: Anyone, including ICE agents, can enter public areas of your business without permission. Public areas include your lobby, reception area, parking lot or a dining room in a restaurant.

Agents may wait there but they cannot stop people, talk to people, arrest anyone, or detain anyone.

Neither ICE agents, nor anyone else has authority to enter the private areas of your business without your permission or a judicial warrant. This is why it is important to maintain signage that says “No Visitors Beyond This Door” or “Employees Only.”

Immigration agents can enter a private area only if they have a judicial warrant, or you give them your permission to enter any private areas of your business. Never do that.

A judicial warrant must be signed by a judge and say “U.S. District Court” or a designated state court on the top of the document.

If ICE agents try to enter a private area, you should say: “This is a private area. You cannot enter without a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Do you have a judicial warrant?” If the agents indicate that they have a warrant, ask for a copy and read it. Make your own copy and call your attorney.

Sometimes, federal agents try to use an administrative warrant to enter. However, administrative warrants do not allow ICE agents to enter private areas without your permission. Administrative warrants are not from a court. They say, “Department of Homeland Security” and are on Forms I-200 or I-205. An administrative warrant is used for checking on rule violations, such as improper recordkeeping. They have nothing to do with detaining or arresting people.

DURING AN ICE RAID

Remain calm. It is your business and you want to remain in control. Tell employees to remain calm.

When ICE shows you an administrative warrant (a DHS Form) with an employee’s name on it:

• You do not have to say if that employee is working on that day or not.
• You do not have to take the ICE agents to the employee named on the warrant, even if he or she is at work at the time.

Do not help ICE agents sort people by their immigration status or the country they are from. Don’t bring your employees together in a room for ICE to interrogate.

Watch the ICE agents and see if they are complying with what is written in the judicial warrant. Anyone around can video or record what the ICE agents do at your workplace, which can help with any later legal ramifications.

NO WARRANT

ICE agents may try to stop, question, or even arrest a worker without the proper authority.

The best way for employees to protect their rights is to stay silent and ask for an attorney.

Employees do not have to hand over any IDs or papers to ICE. No employee has a responsibility to prove they have a right to work because any information that employees give to ICE can be used against them later.

RECEPTION STAFF

You might use this information to train your reception staff. When ICE agents show up at your business, they are guests and you will treat them like a guest. Inform them that you are “the employer representative” and they must stay in a common area, like the reception center.

They may show you some kind of badge or make statements about being law enforcement or police, but you must remain calm and say, “I am sorry but you may not enter any part of our restricted area unless you have a valid warrant signed by a judge. May I see your formal legal documents, please?”

Make a copy of the document they give you. Take the legal document to the person in charge (manager, plant superintendent, CEO, HR). The person will call the attorney because there are different kinds of warrants.

Read the warrant, then you will want to tell the ICE agents that they must stay within the confines of the warrant. They may not go into any other area of your business and they might not question any other employee.

Stay with them at all times. If they attempt to have an extensive broad raid of your building, just say to them, “I’m sorry, but your warrant only allows you to do ________________,” and then explain what the warrant says. It is usually a warrant where they are looking for one person by name.

If they attempt to interrogate employees, tell the employees they can remain silent and ask for an attorney. Never allow them to make a broad sweep of your building. They may only do what the judge instructs.

Ask employees to record what happens near them. Your attorneys might need it. When they leave your facility, make notes and carefully document what happened.

OTHER EMPLOYEES

You might use this information for all other employees.

Employers have rights when ICE goes to a business. Agents do not always have a right to enter your business, stop or arrest your employees, or take documents.

1. Do not talk to ICE agents. 

2. Train all employees to not allow ICE agents to enter your workplace. 

3. Any employee may say, “I can’t give you permission to enter. You must speak with the person in charge.” 

4. Train all employees to NOT interact with ICE agents. If ICE agents have questions or requests, employees should say nothing, or say, “You are not allowed to enter. Talk to my supervisor.” 

5. Know your rights. 

6. Remind your employees that they can make things worse if they run because ICE agents may say they are running because they probably violated the immigration laws.

DOCUMENT THE RAID

Write or record these things after ICE leaves:

1. How many ICE agents were present (inside and outside)? 

2. How were the agents dressed? How were they armed? 

3. Did the agents make you or your employees believe you could not move or leave? 

4. Did the agents mistreat anyone? If yes, how? 

5. Notify the employees’ union (if the employees have a union). 

6. If ICE arrests any of your employees, ask the ICE agents where they are being taken. This information will help the worker’s family and lawyer find the person when they call or come to the business.

PREPARE FOR AN I-9 AUDIT

There is now a new focused effort to ensure all Visas are legal. Since 1986 every employer must comply with the legal requirement to have up-to-date I-9 information for each employee that verifies who the employee is (identity) and whether the employee has legal authority to work in the United States (right-to-work). The I-9 form is provided by the government. Businesses use a free platform called E-Verify to enter the information and receive a confirmation that the employee is legally entitled to work in the United States. ICE comes to your business to check if you are following the rules for Form I-9 compliance. They have a right to do that.

Below is a breakdown on how best to comply with an I-9 audit:

1. Make sure you have a completed Form I-9 for all employees. Here it is online: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9.pdf
2. If you do not know how to complete the process, here is the link to the handbook that explains it: https://www.uscis.gov/book/export/html/59502. It is mandatory and there are penalties for failing to have them.
3. Keep the I-9 forms on file for three years after hiring, or one year after the employee leaves whichever is later. Electronic files are okay with password protection.
4. Do not ask a worker to complete Form I-9 more than once unless their work permit is about to expire or you have another valid, legal reason, such as change in identity. The information must match what the employee provided Social Security card name and number, driver’s license data, or a passport.
5. If the employee changes identity, then you must have a new I-9 and attach it to the original.
6. If an employee marries and changes name, you must complete Supplemental B, reverification and rehire on the original form.
7. Once you view and verify the documents, you do not need to make or keep copies of an employee’s ID or work authorization documents. You just need the I-9.

When ICE notifies you that there will be a Form I-9 audit, notify your employees and their union representative about the audit. Also notify your attorney. You have three workdays to prepare for the audit. You are not required to produce them instantly. Get advice from your attorney before answering questions or signing ICE documents. Allow your employees to have union representatives present when discussing I-9 audits.

After reviewing the I-9 forms, ICE may find some employees are not authorized to work. If that happens, ICE will give you 10 days to provide valid work authorization for these employees. If you can’t provide the documents by that time, you will be told to end their employment. If this happens, you must notify the affected employees of the audit. You may ask ICE for more time, which will give the affected employees time to produce the correct identification required or contact their attorneys.

If you are in violation, you can expect an order to stop hiring people without valid work permits. You will be subject to civil and criminal fines and penalties, which is why you should contact your attorney.

When the audit is over, one or more of your employers may face deportation or be unable to return to work. You may need to terminate the employee immediately. This could impact your business and the morale of your staff. You could give the employee a leave of absence for a short time to obtain the required paperwork and allow them to return to their same positions with full seniority and benefits once they provide their authorization papers. Make sure you follow the requirements of federal and state labor laws.

OTHER DHS VISITS

Following an act of domestic terrorism DHS may be the agency that visits your facility. They may use an administrative warrant to check your records. This is especially the case if you are in an area where an act of terrorism occurred or import products, including products that arrive from outside the United States, which could conceal explosives or other contraband. Be prepared for the counter-terrorism agent to ask safety and security-related questions:

1. Does the company maintain control over the doors with proper locks and passwords? 

2. Does the company have a method to identify each employee by name or employee number that is visible to everyone? 

3. Does the company have a method to identify every vehicle in the parking lot to confirm that it is property of an employee and not a decoy that carries explosives)? 

4. Does the company have an Employee Handbook with policies and rules regarding building safety, including access and identification? 

5. Does the company use a formal application process to hire employees? 6. Does the company have a representative that personally interviews each applicant before they are employed?

Their questions appear to be related to terrorism and whether unauthorized people can access buildings or park vehicles on the company property, or whether a person can obtain employment without proper vetting. They are about basic business security. Every business must give a little attention to the basics.

SUMMARY

Although we assumed businesses in large cities that have entry-level employees are the logical target for an inspection or investigation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its enforcing arm (ICE), no business is immune because of the number of visas and other work permits held by Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) employees. We can no longer take a casual approach to certain HR practices, even if a company has only one employee. This advisory provides the basics and will allow you to audit whether you are prepared for DHS enforcement activity at your business.

1. Make certain the I-9s are up-todate, properly filed and secure. Use E-Verify – it’s required and free. 

2. Give any employee with no I-9 verification five days to produce it. 

3. Determine that all employees subject to employment-based immigration procedures (such as employment visas and employment authorization documents) have obtained proper work authorization, (H1-B or EB – including STEM students). 

4. Ensure that all Department of Labor regulations are followed, leading up to and after filing Labor Condition Applications. This is required as part of many employment-related immigration applications. 

5. Report any suspicious activities to the proper authorities immediately.

If you have accurate, up to date I-9s and Visas, then ICE will not find any violations on your property.

This is not a legal advisory and every company facing immigration compliance should seek advice from an attorney skilled in Immigration Compliance Law.

Nancye Combs is STAFDA’s human resources consultant. She is a senior cerified executive in HR, serving as a voice of authority in human resources and organizational management. The founder of HR Enterprise Inc., in Louisville, Kentucky, she has spent more than 35 years providing value to executives on a full range of difficult HR issues. She teaches HR Compliance and Management and she has served more than 700 clients on five continents.

HOW YOU CAN PREPARE

• Create a written plan in advance. Who speaks on behalf of the business?
• The plan must be YOUR plan because each business has its own chain-of-command and structure.
• Train the employees who will encounter ICE Agents, in advance – PRACTICE – what to say and what not to say.
• Be sure you have an attorney you can call when ICE shows up.

This article originally appeared in the June/July 2025 issue of Contractor Supply magazine. Copyright, 2025 Direct Business Media.