Immigration Agents Raid Over 100 7-Eleven Stores, Warning All U.S. Employers to Prepare for Random Immigration Audits
January 15, 2018
Hundreds of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walked into over 100, 7-Eleven stores throughout California—without any notice or warning. The acting Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security Investigations said that the 7-Eleven raids were “the first of many” and serve as “a harbinger of what’s to come” for all employers across the United States.
ICE's enforcement actions led to the arrest of 21 7-Eleven employees suspected to be in the United States unlawfully. Further, ICE agents served each store with subpoenas and ICE notices of inspection, demanding significant employer immigration compliance and employee records.
ICE made clear that the raids were targeted at local, regional, and corporate 7-Eleven management. The purpose: to remind employers that the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement actions will target ALL employers, with the intention of imposing significant fines and, quite possibly, criminal penalties for immigration compliance violations, however minimal the violation.
All employers must be proactive. The smallest of immigration employment verification errors can lead to the greatest of disasters.
