On January 21, 2025, the Trump administration revoked a longstanding policy that restricted federal immigration authorities from carrying out enforcement activities at sensitive locations including schools, churches, and hospitals. The Executive Order focuses on persons in the United States without lawful status who have committed crimes.
The current administration has directed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take action to enforce select immigration laws. Many employers are concerned and want to know what is allowed and what is not allowed when dealing with law enforcement and ICE officials.
We hope this gives some guidance in the event your company has a site visit or even a raid.
For All Visits
For all visits, you should train your staff who work on-site on what to do if there is a visit by immigration and have a protocol in place for who should be notified within your organization should immigration have a visit.
Please train staff in asking for the reason for the visit and request a card, badge number or other identification when and if they arrive.
Make sure the staff on-site understands what a public area is and what a private area is.
They should always be trained to immediately contact counsel or human resources.
Always be present with the agents if they are on the premises and cooperate with them as they conduct their business.
Always be polite.
Understand and organize where your immigration documentation is for your company.
Consider an internal audit of your I-9s, Internal audits demonstrate good faith compliance in the event of an I-9 government audit.
In addition, ensure documentation related to work visas, wages and job duties are well organized.
Always be polite, courteous and calm.
Who Visits Companies
It can be very confusing with all the agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. The three immigration agencies ICE, Customs Border Protection (CBP) and United States Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) have the same immigration enforcement power and the same immigration subpoena power. ICE is responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the U.S., while CBP is the agency responsible for enforcement at or near the nation’s borders as well as functional equivalents of the border. USCIS is to process and make decisions about immigration relief, immigration status, H-1B, L-1A petitions and other applications
What are Visits: USCIS Compliance Visits Referred to as Site Visits
These visits are often made by ICE and by contract employees of the Department of Homeland Security. When employers file petitions such as H-1B or L-1 petitions with USCIS, these site visits are part of ICE’s compliance programs. The aim is to make sure that the terms of employment and salary as stated in the petition submitted to USCIS are performed by the employee.
Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 Audits
An I-9 audit is when ICE reviews a company’s Employment Eligibility Verification Forms (Form I-9). Employers are required to verify that their workers are legally authorized to work in the United States.
ICE may conduct an on-site inspection to verify compliance. This may lead to a Notice of Inspection (NOI), which informs an employer that they must produce the I-9 forms of their employees within three business days. ICE may issue the NOI by appearing in person with no advance notice.
Can ICE agents go anywhere on Company Premises: what is a warrant?
A judicial warrant : a judicial warrant is a formal written order authorizing a law enforcement officer to make an arrest, seizure, or search. A judicial warrant is issued by a judicial court. Courts that issue judicial warrants include both state and federal courts, a judicial warrant is signed by a state or Federal judge or magistrate judge. Furthermore, judicial warrants must be complied with, and there are serious consequences for refusing to comply with a judicial warrant. Note that a warrant signed by an immigration judge is not a judicial warrant.An administrative warrant : an administrative warrant is a formal written document authorizing a law enforcement officer from a designated federal agency, such as an ICE agent from DHS, to make an arrest or a seizure. An administrative warrant is issued by a federal agency such as DHS and can be signed by an immigration judge or an immigration officer. Unlike a judicial warrant, an administrative warrant does not authorize a search. Therefore, an ICE agent who has only an administrative warrant may not conduct a search based on the warrant, though, in certain circumstances, the administrative warrant would authorize the agent to make a seizure or arrest.
Public Areas
Yes, ICE can have access to public areas. ICE agents have the right to enter any public areas on the property. ICE agents must be allowed access to any portion of the property that an ordinary customer, or member of the public, would be allowed to enter
Private Areas
No, not without a judicial warrant. ICE agents do not have an automatic right to enter nonpublic areas of your facilities. A judicial warrant is a warrant signed by a Judge.
Whether ICE agents must be granted access to these private areas depends on whether agents are able to produce a judicial warrant that grants them access to otherwise prohibited areas. To clarify what constitutes a public vs. private area, it is advisable to clearly label entrances and access points as “private areas” if members of the public are not allowed to access them freely without permission.
Judicial Warrants
If ICE agents produce a warrant that has been signed by a judge, employees must grant the agents access to the specific areas listed in the warrant. This means that ICE has been granted access to search particular areas or search for particular persons within the facility.
This does not mean that ICE agents have unlimited access to an entire facility unless the signed warrant specifies it as such. ICE agents may only search in the nonpublic areas that are specified in the warrant. If ICE agents attempt to enter nonpublic areas more than what is allowed on the warrant, employees and staff have the legal right to refuse entry.
Administrative Warrants
If ICE agents produce an “administrative warrant,” – a document that may contain the word ‘warrant’ but lacks a judge’s approval – employees have the right to refuse entry to nonpublic areas. An administrative warrant is a document produced by federal immigration enforcement authorities that directs law enforcement officers to arrest or detain a particular individual who is suspected of violating U.S. immigration laws. In contrast to a judicial warrant, an administrative warrant does not give ICE agents the authority to enter nonpublic spaces to carry out the arrest.
Understanding these protocols and rights is crucial for employers in managing potential visits from immigration enforcement. Greenspoon Marder has attorneys with experience in government agencies, including Patricia Gannon, who served as Deputy District Counsel for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. This expertise is invaluable in training staff, maintaining proper documentation, and knowing the legal distinctions between types of warrants, which can help ensure compliance while safeguarding the rights of employees and the organization. Always consider seeking legal counsel for specific situations involving immigration enforcement.
Please reach out to your Greenspoon Marder LLP Immigration & Naturalization Practice Group for any further questions or concerns.
