ICE Targets 7-Eleven Stores, Arrests 21 In Nationwide Sweep

Immigration agents stormed nearly 100 7-Eleven stores in New Jersey and nationwide Wednesday under an illegal immigration crackdown the Trump administration has said should serve as a warning to companies that have undocumented workers on their payrolls. Officials said it is the largest immigration effort yet against a U.S. company under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Twenty-one people suspected of being in the country illegally were arrested in the convenience store raids, the latest front in Trump's expansion of immigration arrests, which are up 40 percent under his presidency. They are "a harbinger of what's to come" for employers that hire undocumented workers, said Derek Benner, a top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This is what we’re gearing up for this year, and what you’re going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters,” Benner, acting executive associate director for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, told The Associated Press. “It’s not going to be limited to large companies or any particular industry, big medium and small. It’s going to be inclusive of everything that we see out there.”

Payroll audits of 7-11 stores that could lead to criminal charges or fines for hiring practices.

ICE agents showed up in unmarked cars just before dawn Wednesday at 7-Eleven stores from one coast to the other. The chain, which has 8,600 convenience stores in the United States, distanced itself from the crackdown, saying individual franchisees dictate hiring practices. The store said it has in the past torn up agreements with franchise owners who have violated employment law.

"7-Eleven franchisees are independent business owners and are solely responsible for their employees including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States," the company said in a statement. "This means that all store associates in a franchised store are employees of the franchisee and not 7-Eleven Inc."

News of the raids comes as a New Jersey man originally from India became the first person to be stripped of his U.S. citizenship as part of a nationwide immigration crackdown. Read more: First Man Stripped Of U.S. Citizenship Under Trump Crackdown

Businesses that hire illegal workers are a "pull factor" for illegal immigration, ICE Acting Director Tom Homan said in a statement, and the Trump administration "is working hard to remove this magnet."

“ICE will continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers by eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that exploit illegal immigration," Homan said in the statement.

ICE said it began serving notices and arresting people at 6:30 a.m., temporarily shutting down 7-Eleven stores in Washington, D.C., and California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

ICE did not offer specifics on what stores were targeted, and who was arrested. We'll have more information as it comes in.

“Today’s actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable,” Homan said.

In a release, ICE said it developed a comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy that targets employers who violate employment laws.

This strategy incorporates the following conduct worksite enforcement: compliance, through I-9 inspections, civil fines and referrals for debarment; enforcement, through the arrest of employers, knowingly employing undocumented workers, and the arrest of unauthorized workers for violation of laws associated with working without authorization; and outreach, through the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) program, to instill a culture of compliance and accountability.

“HSI prioritizes violators who abuse and exploit their workers, aid in the smuggling or trafficking of their alien workforce into the United States, create false identity documents or facilitate document fraud, or create an entire business model using an unauthorized workforce,” said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Derek Benner. “Further priority is given to looking closely at those companies or industries that are deemed national security or critical infrastructure interests.”

From an operational standpoint, each worksite enforcement investigation is unique, ICE said. Many factors are considered and, depending on the level of cooperation and culpability, the final outcome for the company and its employees will vary from case to case.

For example, a recently completed investigation of Asplundh Tree Experts Co., one of the largest privately-held companies in the United States, revealed a scheme to unlawfully employ aliens, in which the highest levels of Asplundh management remained willfully blind while lower level managers hired and rehired employees they knew to be ineligible to work in the United States.

The company pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a monetary forfeiture judgment in the amount of $80 million – the largest judgment ever handed down in a worksite enforcement investigation. They are also required to abide by an administrative compliance agreement, as set forth by HSI Philadelphia, the local jurisdiction for the company’s headquarters, according to ICE.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ICE photo