ICE Reverses Guidance: Farms, Hotels, and Restaurants Again Subject to Worksite Enforcement Actions

Over the course of just four days, Immigration and Customs Enforcement reversed course twice on conducting worksite enforcement actions on businesses in the agricultural, hotel, and restaurant industries.

Background

Last Thursday (June 12th), the White House, citing pressure from farm and hotel owners, promised relief from ICE enforcement for employees in the agriculture and hospitality industries, with the President stating, “We’re going to have an order on that coming out soon.”

While no Executive Order was issued to that effect, in the hours following the President’s statement, a senior ICE official emailed guidance to regional leaders of Homeland Security Investigations, the department responsible for carrying out worksite operations, ordering the following:

“Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels.”

The email directive went on to state that investigations involving “human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling into these industries are OK,” but, crucially, that agents were not to make arrests of “noncriminal collaterals,” a reference to people who are here illegally, but who are not known to have committed any crime.

The Reversal

Yesterday, in an abrupt reversal, officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told agency leaders in a phone call that agents must continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels, and restaurants. The new instructions were shared in an 11 a.m. call to representatives from 30 field offices across the country.

The about-face signals a White House being pulled in two directions on the issue of immigration enforcement—with executives in agriculture and hospitality pressuring the White House to loosen up on policies that are costing them migrant workers and an administration that promised the largest mass deportation operation in history.

The White House had set a quota for ICE to make a minimum of 3,000 immigration arrests per day, a number that immigration experts have said likely cannot be achieved without widespread worksite enforcement actions. Border Czar Tom Homan said last week that ICE is currently arresting about 2,000 people per day.

What’s Next

At this time, agriculture, hotels, and restaurants should continue to be prepared for the possibility of ICE showing up at their doors. Where the Administration ultimately lands on worksite enforcement in the future is likely going to depend on whose interests win out—those of industries that rely on undocumented immigrant labor or those that prioritize mass deportation.

We will issue an alert to our subscribers on any developments as they arise.