A Crain’s Detroit Business article, “Michigan employers brace for workforce scrutiny as immigration enforcement efforts increase,” discusses how the Trump administration’s promise to crack down on undocumented workers has Michigan farms and businesses scrambling to prepare for closer scrutiny.
Sarah Bileti, senior counsel at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP and chair of the firm’s Immigration Practice Group, said that she has been busy answering a flood of calls from concerned employers who are trying to prepare.
“In this week alone, I’ve gotten more calls regarding ICE raids and ‘Do you know what to do (if) someone appears with a warrant?’ than probably ever in my career,” Bileti told Crain’s last week.
The key theme among her clients who employ immigrants is that they are “concerned and paying attention” to the situation, she said. Bileti is encouraging clients to prepare for closer scrutiny of their workforce by gathering necessary documentation for legal workers and completing I-9 forms for all employees.
“Employers don’t necessarily have to be document experts, but they have a duty to inspect the documents that are provided and make a reasonable judgment about whether or not those documents are genuine and relate to the person who’s presenting them,” she said.
While Bileti isn’t certain that the Trump administration will arrest and deport more undocumented immigrants than prior administrations, “the messaging … is fundamentally different.”
She anticipates an increase in notices of inspection and I-9 audits for Michigan businesses like farms that employ immigrants. While the inspections also ramped up during the first Trump administration, the timing of the new scrutiny remains to be seen.
“Those sorts of delays can really impact agricultural labor because it’s already seasonal,” she said. “It’s already on the specific timing that needs to occur to be useful to the farmers. During Trump’s first term, (there were) extremely increased processing times and delays.”
Crain’s Detroit Business subscribers can read the complete story here.
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