In recent news, worksite immigration audits and arrests seem to be accelerating at a rapid pace since last year, 2017. There are many people who are truly against how the immigration situation has been handled and on the other end there are those who appreciate the immigration movement that has been taking place.

According to Nation's Restaurant News online article, Derek Benner, acting executive associate director for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), he states, "This is not a victimless crime. Unauthorized workers often use stolen identities of legal U.S. workers, which can significantly impact the identity theft victim’s credit, medical records and other aspects of their everyday life.”

Below are some ways worksite immigration audits can be seen as a positive step forward:

• combats worker exploitation
• illegal wages
• child labor
• other illegal practices suh as criminal activity (alien smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, and document fraud

Furthermore, Benner also states that the moves made by ICE are to also push for a culture of compliance amongst employers when it comes to taking the Immigration Reform and Control Act seriously. Lastly, be prepared when ICE is showing up to your restaurant or other form/s of business. There is one thing to identify immediately which is what kind of warrant is presented, judicial - where employers are needed to comply with, or administrative - where there is no legal obligation to consent to entry and search.  

As the employer, having your managers prepared for this kind of audit is helpful in the long run. When ICE shows up, make sure to also check in with your legal counsel on how to go about it. 

As an American citizen, how do you feel about ICE going about worksite audits and how do you feel about the positives that these audits can do? What do you feel are some negatives about it?

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