Guidelines to assist growers with immigration preparedness on the farm: Part 1
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EmailIntroductory information to help growers and farm workers take initial steps for potential immigration actions.
With the recent immigration sweeps that have been on the national news, Michigan growers and agricultural workers may need clarification about what the new federal immigration mandates mean for their farms and farmworkers. There have been 10 recent executive orders signed that pertain to immigration and U.S. census data shows that 62% of farmworkers in the U.S. are migrants. The new federal mandates affect all migrant workers and their employers so farmers need to be aware of procedures that may impact their farms. This article provides a list of resources and information that will be important to explain the common immigration actions that may affect farm employers and how they can prepare. Additionally, this article provides information on the actions to take if a farm undergoes an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visit.
Michigan State University Extension recommends that all agricultural employers be proactive to ensure that their farm business and employees are as prepared as possible for potential immigration enforcement. First, employers should establish I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification compliance. All employers are required to verify that everyone they hire is eligible to work in the U.S., and all these employees, hired after November 6, 1986, must have a complete and properly filled out I-9 Form on file. Farm employers should conduct regular I-9 audits to determine and correct potential discrepancies and employees should also be properly trained to fill out I-9 forms. Cornell University hosted a presentation from an attorney from a New York law firm to show how employers can become I-9 compliant, and the link to the slides can be viewed HERE.
The following information has been provided by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) and the National Immigration Law Center and is designed to help farm employers understand immigration actions if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) comes to an agricultural workplace.
Please note that this guide is intended to provide general information. The following is not legal advice, nor it is tailored to any individual situation. Growers should talk to an immigration lawyer for advice in a specific case if needed.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can visit a farm employer for one of three reasons: 1) form I-9 audit, 2) a raid, or 3) to detain specific people. A Form I-9 audit is when ICE comes to your business to check if the farm employer is following the rules for Form I-9. This form confirms a worker’s identity and authorization to work in the U.S. The I-9 requirements for an employer are as follows:
- Form I-9 is required for all new employees.
- Growers need to have I-9 forms for their direct employees. Labor contractors are responsible for employee I-9 forms for farm workers in the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers program.
- I-9 forms must be kept on file for 3 years after hiring or 1 year after the worker’s last day of work, whichever is later.
- Do not ask a worker to fill out Form I-9 more than once unless his or her work permit is about to expire, or there is another valid, legal reason.
- Employers do not have to keep copies of a worker’s ID or work authorization documents.
An ICE raid is when ICE agents come onto a worksite as part of an investigation into an employer or employee. Raids are often conducted without prior contact with the employer. We recommend that farm employers make a written plan in case immigration agents come onto the farm; ICE raids are conducted on-farm without prior employer knowledge (i.e. raids are unannounced and can come at any time). We recommend all farm managers be aware of the plan in case the main farmer/primary landowner/supervisor is not present during the raid. Immigration response networks in your area can provide support with family, legal, financial and media concerns if immigration agents come to your business.
In the case of an ICE visit, workers should not interact or engage with agents directly. A worker should speak to the primary employer rather than to the ICE agents. Workers should remain calm and direct ICE agents to the primary employer. If ICE agents come to the farm, they can enter public areas of the business without permission, just as anyone visiting the farm can enter those areas. In most cases, the public areas include the parking lot, lobby or waiting area.
No one can enter a private area of your business without your permission or a judicial warrant. To show that some areas are private, growers should mark them with a “Private” sign, keep the doors closed or locked, and have a policy that visitors and the public cannot enter those areas without permission. In most cases, farms have these designated areas in place in compliance with Worker Protection Standards (WPS).
To enter private areas, ICE agents must have a warrant. They may have a judicial warrant or an administrative warrant. A judicial warrant must be signed by a judge and say “U.S. District Court” or a State Court at the top. Without a judicial warrant, ICE agents need someone’s permission to enter private areas of the farm business. Before entering private areas, the employers should ask for a copy of the judicial warrant and read it; the employer can accept the warrant but still decline to consent to the search. An administrative warrant does not allow agents to enter private areas without your permission. Administrative warrants are not from a court, they will say “Department of Homeland Security” on them and are on Forms I-200 or I-205.
Again, this document is NOT legal advice, but a reminder for growers to be prepared for immigration actions. If farm employers or farm workers need legal advice, contact the Immigration Law and Justice, Michigan, firm. They have offices in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, metro Detroit and Traverse City.
- For more specific information on how employers can prepare for immigration actions, please see this link from NELP.
- A PDF document of what to do if immigration comes to your workplace can be found here.
For employers looking to support their employees with their concerns about ICE-related enforcement, Veronica T. Thronson, Clinical Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law has provided the below links.
- The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium NAKASEChas excellent resources and a downloadable app available in 18 languages in addition to English.
- Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)
ilrc.org - National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
nilc.org - American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
aclu.org - Asian Law Caucus (ALC)
asianlawcaucus.org
