As deportations ramp up, prepare for increased chance of ICE

President Donald Trump campaigned on the issue of illegal immigration, promising to carry out large-scale deportations of undocumented individuals if elected. He is following through on that pledge, and employers are now in the crossfire. From the outset, “Border Czar” Tom Homan has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target undocumented fugitives aggressively. ICE continues to flex its muscles by expanding its efforts to locate undocumented individuals within company workforces.

ICE raid without a warrant

In January 2025, in an unprecedented move, ICE showed up at a seafood distribution depot in Newark, New Jersey, without a warrant and demanded to see workers’ documents to establish if they were authorized to work. The employer allowed ICE agents to enter the worksite without a warrant, which gave them the authority to interview and arrest undocumented workers.

During the operation, ICE agents detained citizens and undocumented residents to verify their legal status. A source from ICE told a local TV news station that the raid wasn’t part of the mass deportation plan. Instead, it was conducted based on a tip indicating the market employed individuals without legal status. While tips can lead to ICE raids, they usually don’t trigger an operation on their own, and it isn’t common to see a raid conducted without a warrant.

ICE worksite investigations have started