Last October, then-acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Thomas Homan promised to increase workplace raids “by four or five times.” Early Wednesday morning, unshackled ICE agents raided nearly 100 7-Eleven stores nationwide in what the AP called “the largest single operation against an employer under Donald Trump’s presidency”:
The raids were conducted so ICE could “open employment audits and interview workers,” according to the Associated Press, which, in a nice bit of collaboration, sent journalists along to witness the raids taking place. At least 21 people who were suspected of being in the country illegally were arrested.
The 7-Eleven stores targeted on Wednesday will now have to produce documents that show they required workers to fill out work eligibility forms. Workplace raids and I-9 employment eligibility form audits first soared under the Barack Obama administration. Paperwork audits went from 503 in 2008 to more than 8,000 between 2009 and 2012, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
And, the agency promises it’s only the beginning of their mass deportation sweep targeting workers. “This is what we’re gearing up for this year and what you’re going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters,” said Derek Benner, the acting head of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations.
”This is yet another example of the escalating attacks from the Trump administration and its rogue ICE agency on immigrant communities,” said immigrant rights group Make The Road New York. “This is a family separation tactic—nothing more, nothing less—meant to stoke fear in the hearts of our community. But we also know that workers have rights in this country, regardless of immigration status. We encourage all workers to review their rights in case of an ICE raid.”