Guiding with Confidence, Not Alarm: A Texas Approach to ICE Visits Revisited
In today's manufacturing landscape, manufacturers might unexpectedly face visits from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Although understanding employee rights and the laws on warrants and resistance is crucial, leaders must go beyond just knowing their rights and focus on leading during uncertain times.
It's essential to manage these encounters in a professional and empathetic manner so that operations continue smoothly, relationships with employees remain robust, and risks are minimized. Here's a leadership-based framework for ICE preparedness that focuses on operational continuity, employee trust, and long-term resilience.
- Simulate ICE Scenarios: Conduct tabletop exercises or onsite walkthroughs to prepare your management team for ICE interactions. These simulations allow your team to identify gaps, clarify roles, and practice calm, coordinated responses without disturbing operations or causing unnecessary fear among employees.
- Empower Designated Responders: Assign specific team members, ideally from HR, compliance or senior operations, who are trained to engage with law enforcement respectfully. These individuals should be able to assert rights, review warrants, communicate effectively with agents, employees, and fellow team members.
- Organize Documentation: Ensure that you have proper documentation readily available and know how to proceed if a warrant is presented. Discuss your legal team's guidance on producing documentation during visits, providing I-9s upon written notice, and what to say when questioned about specific employees.
- Coach Employees on Responses: Encourage employees to respond calmly and professionally to ICE agents if necessary. Use meetings or safety huddles to discuss potential scenarios and make it clear that no one is required to speak but that there are professional ways to engage if they choose to.
- Address Emotional Impact: Recognize that the fear of detention, deportation, or familial separation can introduce anxiety into your workplace, even if there's no legal risk within your facility. Offer resources through your EAP or local nonprofits to assist with immigration-related concerns and create a safe space for employees to share their concerns without fear of retaliation.
- Rethink Success: A successful ICE visit is not one where every right is asserted with maximum resistance. Instead, aim for an encounter where no one is unnecessarily detained, business disruption is minimal, relationships with employees remain intact, and no additional scrutiny or penalties are introduced.
- Document Thoroughly but Discretely: Document everything about an ICE visit, such as badge numbers, the number of agents, items requested or seized, and your team's response. If allowed under state law, video recordings can also help. Train designated staff to take notes discreetly and professionally without appearing as a provocation.
- Strengthen Compliance: Regularly review your internal I-9 audits and fix errors or missing information to reduce the risk of violations if ICE audits your records. Consider working with a compliance consultant who can audit without internal familiarity biases. Also, ensure that new hires are onboarded with complete documentation and that those forms are accessible for quick retrieval if needed.
- Lead with Trust, Not Fear: ICE visits can be serious, but manufacturing leaders who do not employ unauthorized workers should feel confident, not threatened, by compliance. Preparation rooted in respect for the law, your workforce, and the human experience behind every badge check will make your facility both legally prepared and operationally resilient. You'll demonstrate to your workforce that leadership is more than just compliance; it's about care, clarity, and leading with courage through uncertainty with empathy.
- In addition to understanding their rights, manufacturing leaders should also conduct simulations of ICE scenarios to prepare their teams for professional and empathetic interactions with ICE agents.
- To engage with law enforcement respectfully, it's wise to empower designated responders, ideally from HR, compliance, or senior operations, who are trained to assert rights, review warrants, communicate effectively, and serve as a point of contact for the team.
- To minimize risks during an ICE visit, it's important for manufacturers to organize and have readily available proper documentation and to follow legal guidance when producing documentation and providing I-9's upon written notice.
- To ensure employees respond calmly and professionally during encounters with ICE agents, leaders should coach their employees on potential scenarios and create a culture where they feel equipped to engage in a professional manner.
- Furthermore, addressing the emotional impact of ICE visits is crucial in the manufacturing industry, as fear can introduce anxiety into the workplace. Manufacturing leaders should provide resources through employee assistance programs or local nonprofits to help employees navigate emotional concerns related to immigration.
