Know Your Rights: A Workplace Immigration Enforcement Action

Know Your Rights: A Workplace Immigration Enforcement Action

Workplace immigration enforcement can be frightening and chaotic. Whether you are an employee or an employer, understanding your rights and the difference between an audit and an enforcement action helps everyone respond more calmly and lawfully.

Employee Rights During an Enforcement Action

If immigration officers arrive at a workplace, employees generally retain their constitutional rights. You have the right to remain silent and do not have to answer questions about your immigration status or where you were born. You can state that you wish to remain silent and want to speak with an attorney. You are not required to carry or hand over documents that reveal your country of origin, though rules about identification can vary by situation.

Do Not Run

As frightening as the situation is, running can create serious legal complications and may even lead to additional problems or injury. Staying calm, remaining silent, and asking for a lawyer is generally safer than fleeing. Panic tends to make outcomes worse, not better.

An I-9 Audit Is Not the Same as an Enforcement Raid

There is an important difference between a Form I-9 audit and an enforcement action. An I-9 audit is a paperwork inspection: the government reviews an employer's employment eligibility verification records, usually after serving a Notice of Inspection, and the employer typically has a few days to produce the documents. That is very different from officers physically arriving to detain individuals. Employers should know which situation they are facing and respond appropriately, ideally with counsel.

Have a Workplace Preparedness Plan

Both employers and workers benefit from a plan made in advance. Employers should know their rights and obligations, understand the difference between public and private areas of a business, and designate who speaks with officers. Workers should know their rights, keep an attorney's number accessible, and understand that they can decline to answer questions. Preparation reduces panic and protects everyone's rights.

How Vasquez Law Firm Can Help

At Vasquez Law Firm, our attorneys advise both workers and employers on their rights and obligations around workplace immigration enforcement and help build preparedness plans. Call 1-844-967-3536 for a free evaluation. Understanding the rules before an action occurs is the best way to protect your rights and your business.