If ICE comes knocking – What Chicago employers need to know

By Sasha Maynard[1]

One in five immigrant employees are members of the Chicago-metropolitan workforce. With the increased presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities, it is important to know how to handle this situation proactively while protecting your workplace.

Employers should first consider whether they are in an industry that is likely to have a large proportion of immigrant workers. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, approximately 40 percent of workers in the food service industry in the Chicago area are immigrants. Employers in these industries are more vulnerable to ICE activity than employers in some other industries.

Before a raid

• Review your records to make sure that all of your employees have properly completed I-9 forms on file. An I-9 audit could be the prelude to an ICE raid. If an ICE agent asks to audit your I-9 records, request a Notice of Inspection. Assuming the Notice is valid, you have three days to produce the records. Do not hand over any documents on the spot. Consult with a lawyer before you produce the records.
• Designate specific employees to be the point of contact if an ICE officer enters the workplace. Train all employees to know who these individuals are and make sure that at least one is on duty during all of your operating hours.
• Create a plan for all employees in consultation with your attorney. Once the plan is developed, conduct training to allow employees to learn the protocol. The training can be helpful in uncovering any flaws in the plan that can be remedied before you need to follow it.
• ICE officers are allowed to be in public areas, such as restaurant dining rooms, grocery stores, and parking lots. However, they are not allowed to enter private work spaces without a valid warrant or the permission of the employer. We suggest the following:
  • Create signage to clearly designate private areas.
  • Instruct employees to calmly head to the area marked as private if an ICE agent enters the premises.
  • Consider reassigning immigrant employees to jobs that allow them to stay closer to the designated private areas. This can give the employee a sense of security while also minimizing the risk of creating a scene if an ICE agent enters the premises.
• There are many free resources for immigrant employees in the Chicago area. These include “Know Your Rights” workshops conducted in the individuals’ primary languages, written resources, and information from the City’s Office of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights.

During a raid

• If an ICE agent enters the workplace, remain calm. Ask for a warrant. If the agent produces a warrant, check to make sure that it has been signed by a judge. Also, check to see who the warrant is for and the scope of the warrant, such as the areas are to be searched. There are several types of warrants that are valid. Consult with your attorney beforehand to learn about each type and the appropriate response to each. Always remember that you have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
• If the ICE agent enters the premises, advise your employees not to try to run away or otherwise resist. Even if the agent does not have a warrant, a disturbance may give the agent probable cause to conduct an investigation without a warrant or to detain an employee.
• Similarly, if the ICE agent is detaining an employee, do not resort to physical acts in order to stop the detention.
• Any employee detained may assert his or her right under the Fifth Amendment to remain silent and to ask to speak with a lawyer before speaking to the agent.

After a raid

• As soon as possible, document what happened during the raid. Create detailed notes of the encounter and retain any paperwork that an ICE agent may have given to you or to any of your employees. If an incident broke out, save and secure the video camera footage if any exists.
• Call your attorney. It is crucial to speak with your attorney immediately after the raid.
• If any employee is arrested, ask the ICE agent where the employee is being taken. Write down the address and any other information that the agent relayed, so that you can share that information with the employee’s family.

If you need assistance in connection with preparing for an ICE raid, or responding to a raid that is in progress, please contact any member of Constangy’s Immigration Practice Group.

[1] Sasha Maynard is a 2025 graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. She is working in Constangy’s Chicago office while she awaits bar admission.