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A worker stands at the parking area of the Ocean Seafood Depot on 24 January 2025, one day after the arrest of migrants by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the establishment. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Companies, Schools, Houses of Worship, and Hospitals Get Advice for Handling ICE Enforcement Actions

From a Newark, New Jersey, seafood restaurant to a gas station near orange grove farms in Kern County, California, to a Mexican restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, federal officials have ramped up immigration enforcement actions across the United States.

While campaigning and since being elected, President Donald Trump promised a massive increase in the number of migrants who would be detained and deported, and on the day of his inauguration he signed several executive orders on the issue. In addition, the Acting Department of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman issued a directive that rescinded a previous order that made sensitive areas, such as schools, churches, and hospitals, off limits for most immigration enforcement actions.

There hasn't been a significant increase in ICE operations so far in the new administration, but most accounts of ICE raids are not being corroborated by officials. Most actions so far appear to have taken place in public areas, particularly in places where immigrants have gathered previously, including outside restaurants and outside big box hardware stores where day laborers are often hired.

 

The ramp-up in ICE activity has many businesses, as well as schools, churches, and hospitals, preparing for the possibility that they will be affected. Several nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and lawfirms have issued advice and guidance.

The lawfirm Fox Rothschild with offices across the country issued a step-by-step guide for businesses subject to an ICE enforcement action. Among the pieces of advice:

  • Record the officers’ names and badge numbers.

  • If there is no warrant, allow the agents to enter public areas of the premises. If they attempt to search nonpublic areas, inform them that you object to the search but do not try to physically restrain them.

  • If they have a warrant, ensure that is signed by a judge and note any restrictions the warrant includes, such as if it lists certain places to be searched. Even with a signed warrant, a representative from the company should say that the company does not consent to the search. A representative should follow the officers to ensure they stay within the bounds of the warrant and note any action they think potentially exceeds the bounds of the warrant.

  • Businesses should not assist employees who try to hide from the officers, nor lie to officers or try to destroy or hide documents or equipment.

  • Any locked areas in areas covered by the warrant should be unlocked if the officers request it.

  • Do not interfere if officers speak with employees, and do not direct employees not to cooperate with them. However, you may tell employees they have the option not to answer the officers’ questions.

The full guidance notes that ICE may also audit the business’s I-9 documentation and provides details on how to respond to such notification.

The National Immigration Law Center also has a guide for businesses to prepare for potential ICE actions. Among recommendations that are similar to the legal advice above, the center encourages businesses to work with their legal team or local business association to develop a plan for how they will respond if ICE comes to their business and, importantly, to simulate the plan.

Finally, lawfirm Epstein Becker Green lists steps businesses with concerns should do now to prepare, including designating a person (likely in human resources or legal) to be the primary point of contact; establish basic protocols the designated person will follow during the event; preparing the receptionist, host or hostess, or other first contact person on what they should do if ICE officers arrive; and conduct an internal audit of I-9 files or E-Verify information so you can access necessary information.

Schools are also on heightened alert since the administration said ICE could take enforcement actions at schools. As of the time of publication, there have been no reported ICE actions at schools.

Several school districts and advocacy groups have issued guidance related to ICE enforcement actions at schools.

A central tenet of the guidance references the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits schools from disclosing any personally identifiable information about a student without written consent from a guardian or the eligible student. Exceptions to FERPA include court-ordered releases of information.

The superintendent of Broward County Public Schools in Florida—the sixth largest school district in the country—sent a memorandum to school principals that said, “Student records are protected under [FERPA]. No student information should be released without proper authorization, consistent with FERPA guidelines. …If you have questions or if specific situations arise, please contact the General Counsel’s Office for guidance before taking any action.”

In addition, several sources, including the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, cite U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe that provided that all children in the United States have a constitutional right to receive a free public K-12 education.

After the 2024 election, the Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution that said ICE will not be allowed in schools for enforcement actions unless ICE officers have a criminal warrant.

In addition to school campuses potentially being affected by ICE enforcement, schools also must prepare for situations where a child’s parent or caregiver has been detained or deported. Among the 10 strategies for schools to prepare for ICE activity detailed in the Intercultural Development Research Association’s “10 Strategies for How Schools Should Respond to Help Children Impacted by ICE Raids” is an item that says, “Help students who become homeless: Have the district’s 'McKinney-Vento' liaison ensure that any students who become homeless as a result of a raid are given supports and legal protections afforded by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.”

As part of its advice to schools, the state of Maryland said that if a school child’s parents think they could be the subject of a detention or deportation action, the parents should designate a trusted adult who can care for their child. The state provided a form parents can use to designate “standby guardians.”

Churches were also previously considered safe havens in which ICE enforcement actions were not carried out. That status was also rescinded by the new administration. There is at least one report of ICE entering a church and detaining a man in Georgia.

Several churches have been taking proactive action to prepare for potential ICE operations, such as St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church in New York City as reported by Scripps News. Guidance for churches echoes the guidance for businesses; however, in the case of places of worship, the distinction between public and private spaces may be hazy.

Several Quaker societies have joined each other in a lawsuit, filed by Democracy Forward, to prevent ICE enforcement actions near houses of worship. “The suit alleges that presence of armed government agents at or near meeting houses is disruptive to Plaintiffs’ ability to freely associate and worship. The suit also alleges that the abrupt shift in policy violates federal law’s prohibition against agencies of the federal government acting arbitrarily and capriciously,” a press release about the lawsuit said.

Hospitals are another class of facilities that are open to ICE enforcement action according to the administration’s guidance. Nationwide law firm Husch Blackwell addressed ICE actions in healthcare settings, providing similar guidance as the sectors highlighted above.

“While it is prudent for healthcare organizations to not be seen as uncooperative with law enforcement, they must be mindful that ICE and other law enforcement must still go through a judicial process to access a patient or their [protected health information], and there is no affirmative legal obligation to collect or report information about a patient’s immigration status just as there is no legal obligation to report on a patient’s drug use," the guidance said. "Healthcare organizations should balance respecting the confidentiality of undocumented immigrants as if they were any other patient with maintaining a good rapport with ICE.”

They recommend making a plan and practicing it. The firm also provided guidance on how to proceed when facing an ICE warrant and I-9 audits.

 

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