As ICE raids increase across the US, attorney warns people to be prepared

Alejandro Pérez, an employment attorney and board president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, has been working on preparing his clients on what to do when Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid the workplace across the United States.

Since the beginning of Donald Trump's second presidential term in January, the US has seen a sharp increase in ICE raids in workplaces, creating a new normal of anxiety for immigrants and their employers. Raids tend to target areas with high immigrant communities, including Latinos and Arabs.

"Workplaces are being targeted, specifically workplaces with a large number of immigrants, because there's an enforcement action regarding immigration status that's ripe for the picking, particularly in construction, agriculture and healthcare," Pérez told The New Arab.

Pérez is a partner at Pierson Ferdinand PLLC in Phoenix, Arizona, where he supports employers in mitigating risk by helping them ensure they're compliant with their I-9 paperwork, which shows legal residency and eligibility for employment in the US. In this current climate, he believes this could be daunting for companies.

An ICE raid can occur at any moment, meaning employers and employees need to have their paperwork in place and also need to have a plan for requesting to see a search warrant from the ICE agents.

"Something I'm telling my clients is to be aware of what to do if there's an ICE raid and to have a policy in place for what to do when ICE comes calling," said Pérez.

"Employers need to ensure they're aware of the scope of the investigation, and they need to ensure there are proper warrants in place," he said. "If they have a proper warrant, the employer needs to make sure they only search areas where they're allowed."

Before it gets to the point of an ICE raid, Pérez works to ensure his clients are compliant with their employees' I-9 forms, typically completed at the time of hiring. In some cases, his client has called in the midst of a raid.

"I know that it can be disturbing. It's my job to make it as calm as possible," he said. "Overall, the message is that there's been a dramatic uptick in enforcement by ICE."

In June, the city of Miami gave the approval for its police department to enforce immigration law, an example of a broader trend to increase the extent of immigration legal enforcement across the country.

In addition to workplaces, ICE have also reportedly conducted raids at schools, immigration courts, sports stadiums, car parks and city parks.

Also in June, Trump sent several thousand Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE protests. Several hundred remain in the city's downtown area.

Trump has vowed to oversee the largest mass deportation operation in US history. He has set a quota goal of 3,000 deportations per day and has offered attractive incentives for ICE recruitment.