ICE Serves 77 NorCal Businesses With Inspection Notices

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, CA – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed today that agents contacted 77 businesses in San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento this week.

ICE spokesman James Schwab said that these businesses were served notices of inspection, which alert a business owner that ICE is going to audit their hiring records to determine whether or not they are complying
with the law.

ICE does not use the term raid to describe these investigations.

Schwab explained that employers served with these notices, also known as I-9 audits, have three days to produce their company's documentation. If they fail to do so, ICE conducts "an inspection for compliance."

According to Schwab, ICE operations this week were a part of ongoing efforts to step up enforcement of laws that prohibit companies from hiring employees who are not legally authorized to work in the U.S.

"...Worksite enforcement strategy is focused on protecting jobs for U.S. citizens and others who are lawfully employed, eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that hire an illegal workforce, and
strengthening public safety and national security," Schwab said.

When asked if a specific industry or type of business was targeted this week, Schwab said that "multiple businesses mostly unrelated to each other" were served with the notices.

Previously, 21 people were arrested and ordered to appear in immigration court during a nationwide ICE operation that targeted 7-Eleven franchises on Jan. 10.

"If the person was here unlawfully they would administratively arrest that person," Schwab said after the Jan. 10 operations. "But this wasn't like a SWAT operation," he said.

Schwab said that no one was arrested in ICE's efforts on this enforcement, lasting from Monday to Wednesday, and that he does not believe anyone has been arrested since.

The spokesman confirmed that ICE will continue to use I-9 audits and civil fines to encourage compliance with the law, as ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan previously stated he wants to increase the number of operations to include more audits in furtherance of pursuing more criminal investigations.

Schwab said that the investigation is ongoing and did not have an estimated time of conclusion.

Immigration rights organizations gathered at the ICE office in San Francisco today to denounce the operations and help educate the community about their rights as employers and documented or undocumented immigrants.

Susan Lubeck, a national director for the Jewish partnership Bend the Arc, teamed up with Jon Rodney, a director from the California Immigrant Policy Center, to lead a two-part event (a vigil and a news conference) in support of the immigrants being affected by ICE operations.

Lubeck said that at least 100 people attended the event and were enthusiastic about being a community of support.

A vigil was held in which attendees were led in song by the organizers. Directly following that came remarks from allies.

Lubeck also said that American Jews were energized in speaking out because Jewish immigrants had been used as scapegoats in the past, like undocumented immigrants are by the Trump administration.

Lubeck, Rodney, their organizations and the others who came in support like Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Service Employees International Union United Service Workers West and SF Jobs with Justice took time during remarks to comment that the public should, in fact, use the word audit.

They don't agree with calling the investigations "raids" because it is a term generally associated with arrests and can provoke fear, according to the statement released about the event.

Next Thursday, the national budget resolution expires and the federal government will need to take another look into funding strategies. These organizations are still hoping that coverage for DACA will be included,
Lubeck said.

The same team that held today's event will put on daily vigils next week in front of the ICE office Monday through Thursday at noon, according to Lubeck.

"People should know how important it is to know your rights, to keep calling your elected officials and keep organizing and taking action to uphold California values, human dignity and our Constitution," Lubeck said.

San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener released a statement today in the wake of learning about ICE's operations, noting that California law prohibits employers from cooperating with ICE to put the inspections into action unless they have a judicial warrant.

"We will stand with our immigrant communities as this administration continues to attack American values and tear apart families," Wiener said in the statement.

Wiener and Assemblymember David Chiu co-authored Assembly Bill 450, which requires that employers notify their employees of audits by immigration officials as well as requires them only to cooperate with ICE if
ICE has a judicial warrant. The bill was signed last October by Governor Jerry Brown and went into effect on Jan. 1.

Chiu was at the vigil and press conference in San Francisco today. He said that a threat to California values, due process and the Constitution is a threat to everybody, "indifferent or not."

• ALSO SEE: LIST: CA Cities Give ICE License Plate Information

--Bay City News/Pixabay image via geralt