When ICE Shows Up at Your California Business

**updated on July 2, 2025**

As immigration enforcement actions escalate across the country, this can impact businesses of all sizes, at times without warning. Our HR hotline is receiving a lot of questions from concerned employers about preparing themselves and their employees in the event of a raid. Preparation is essential to protect your operations, support your employees, and respond appropriately.

Yet, a recent SHRM poll revealed that more than half (52%) of HR professionals feel that their organization is not prepared for an ICE raid. We recommend employers get ready now for both noticed audits of their Form I-9 records, as well as what to expect during an ICE raid. That’s why we have prepared helpful tips, considerations, and additional resources for employers below.

Notice of I-9 Inspection (NOI)

Federal law requires that every employee on your payroll has an I-9 Form on file proving their authorization to work in the U.S. These forms must be completed within three business days of an employee’s hire date. A government audit of an employer’s I-9s starts with a “Notice of Inspection” (NOI), typically giving the employer 3 days to provide its records. Penalties for violations, including document deficiencies, can be steep.

Once the government NOI is received, California employers have additional obligations to their employees. Employers must post a notice for employees within 72 hours of receiving the NOI in the language the employer usually uses to communicate with employees. California’s Labor Commissioner has a sample notice available here.

If the inspection of employee records results in ICE identifying an employee as potentially lacking proper work authorization or having deficiencies in their documentation, the employer must provide the employee, within 72 hours, a copy of the government findings relating to the employee, as well as other information. The notice must be physically provided to the employee at the workplace or, if this is not possible, by mail and/or email.

Employers who operate in a union environment must also provide these notices to the employee representatives within the same timeframes.

CEA members can learn more about their Form I-9 obligations and audit notice requirements from our HR Forms page:

• Recruiting and Hiring Toolkit
• I-9 Self Audit Toolkit
• I9/Employee Records Government Inspection Fact Sheet

Workplace Raids

A workplace raid presents a different scenario. This is when a government agency, like ICE, shows up unannounced to search the workplace and/or arrest someone. In some cases, ICE may be accompanied by other agencies or appear in large numbers, and agents may be masked and donning tactical gear. This “shock and awe” approach may be unnerving and cause disruption in the workplace. The best thing an employer can do if they feel at risk of a visit is to have a plan in place and train or practice on it.

In developing an ICE raid plan, employers should address who is primarily responsible for interacting with ICE agents. The plan should answer:

1. Who needs to be alerted if ICE shows up or a notice is received? (For example: Management, legal counsel, employee representatives?)
2. Who is authorized to speak to law enforcement agents on behalf of the company?
3. What information should be gathered from the agents? (For example: agency, names, badge numbers, cards, etc.)
4. Is there a place for the agents to wait, such as a conference room or office, that will limit workplace disruptions?

Next, employers should prepare to put their plan into action. Some employers choose to conduct “ICE drills” or practice sessions, with the assistance of their legal counsel. As part of this training, helpful tips for your management include:

1. Stay calm. Be professional and limit your answers or comments.
2. Agents should present a warrant to access private areas/authorized-access-only areas of the workplace. Management should review the warrant carefully to ensure its validity and scope. You can deny access to nonpublic areas of the workplace and refuse to turn over documents that are not covered by the warrant. Consult legal counsel.
3. While you should generally cooperate, you are not required to volunteer or provide information beyond what is outlined in the warrant and/or Notice of Inspection.
4. Document, Document, Document: take names and badge numbers or ask the agents for their business cards. Take note of how many agents were present and if any other law enforcement agencies accompanied them.

Employers need to know their rights. A recent article in Inc.com, where CEA is quoted, helps explain what ICE can and cannot do if they show up at your business.

Some other resources for employers are available from:

• The National Immigration Law Center
• The ACLU of Northern California
• The Immigrant Legal Resource Center

Resources for Employees

Employees who are fearful of ICE may not be ready to ask for help. There are still some steps you can take:

1. Make sure all your employees’ contact information and emergency contacts are up to date. Should one of your employees happen to be caught up in an immigration raid, you want to be able to reach their designated contact. This may be the person to care for the employee’s family in their absence or contact legal counsel on their behalf.
2. Make sure employees know their rights. The State of California’s Office of the Attorney General and Civil Rights Department has resources for California’s immigrant communities, including information on rights and protections and access to free and low-cost legal assistance. The American Civil Liberties Union also maintains a page, both in English and Spanish, informing employees of their constitutional rights.

Perform an I-9 audit to address issues in advance of an audit or raid, and present clean, organized, and complete I-9 files should the need arise.

CEA has partnered with Cascade Employers Association to offer a FREE 2025 USCIS Immigration Employment Guide available to all employers.

Harassment and Discrimination Concerns

Campaign promises and political rhetoric may find their way into the workplace. With increased focus on immigration enforcement and the declaration of a “national emergency” at the southern border, anti-immigrant rhetoric by politicians and media outlets has increased. In addition to disagreements on these subjects, this may also escalate into heated arguments, or worse, violation of your harassment and discrimination policies and/or the law. The best way to combat this is to ensure that your harassment policy is clearly communicated and training is up to date.

Your harassment policy should include all protected classes, and your employees and supervisors should be up to date with their mandatory California harassment prevention training within the last two years. New hires and recently promoted supervisors should be trained within six months of their hire date or promotion, while seasonal or temporary employees must be trained within 30 calendar days of hire or 100 hours worked, whichever occurs first.

CEA can assist your company with I-9 audits, Harassment Prevention Training, and other resources. Give us a call at 800.399.5331 to get started.