Deportation and Employment Enforcement Likely to Increase with Nomination of New Director for ICE
Worksite immigration enforcement is likely to increase dramatically in the near future, and employers should make a thorough review of their hiring and employment practices to ensure they are compliant with federal laws and regulations.
On Tuesday, November 14, the Trump administration formally announced current acting director of the United States Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Tom Homan, as the nominee to be ICE’s permanent director. Homan has run the agency since the Obama Administration’s appointee for the position, Sarah Saldana, stepped down in January, and has worked to carry out the Trump Administration’s strict immigration enforcement and deportation agenda. Homan has been the face of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, whether by cracking down on employers who may employ undocumented workers, putting pressure on local governments to give up “sanctuary city” laws, or advocating for tougher border security. Homan’s nomination is subject to approval by the United States Senate.
Recently, Homan spoke at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, where he indicated that the investigative unit of ICE would greatly increase their workplace audits. Homan said “We’re taking worksite enforcement very hard this year. We’ve already increased the number of inspections and worksite operations; you’re going to see that significantly increase this next fiscal year.” As “long as they think they can come here and get U.S. citizenship and not get removed, they’re going to keep coming,” he noted, adding, “as long as they can come here and get a job, they’re going to try and come.” He went on to say that “when we find you at a work site, we’re no longer going to turn our heads. We’ll go after the employer who knowingly hires an illegal alien but we’re always going to arrest a person who is here illegally. That is our job.”
Homan also emphasized that, in addition to workplace enforcement, ICE will increase its deportation efforts. He said, “Will we continue to arrest people at courthouses? Absolutely . . . . [S]anctuary cities are releasing public safety threats back into the public. That doesn’t make sense to me.” With that mind, undocumented immigrants should seek experienced legal counsel as soon as possible in order to evaluate their immigration statuses and how they can protect their legal rights.
Homan has spent over three decades working in law enforcement, including stints as a police officer in New York City and as a Border Patrol Agent for the federal government. He worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service before he became assistant in charge of ICE’s Dallas Field Office in 2003. Since 2009, Homan has been at the ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C.
If you have questions about this post or other immigration topics, please contact me at wcmenard@nmmlaw.com.
