How employers and small businesses can prepare for an ICE visit

This page covers what an employer does before, during and right after an ICE visit. It is general information, not legal advice. For keeping a business running if the owner is detained, see How to protect your business if immigration enforcement comes.

What kinds of ICE visits happen at work?

There are two very different kinds. Knowing which one you face tells you how fast you need to act.

• A paperwork inspection. Agents serve a Notice of Inspection asking for your Form I-9 records. You get at least three business days to hand them over (ICE). Nobody has to answer questions on the spot.
• An enforcement action. Agents arrive to arrest one named worker or to search the workplace. This moves fast. What your point person says in the first minutes matters most.

How do we get ready before anything happens?

Do these now. Most take an afternoon.

1. Name a point person for every shift and a backup. This is the only person who talks to agents. Everyone else keeps working or steps away calmly.
2. Mark your public and private areas. Federal rules let officers into public areas. To question workers in nonpublic areas, the federal rule requires a warrant or the consent of the owner or the person in control (8 CFR 287.8(f)(2)). Decide which rooms are private: kitchen, back office, storage, break room.
3. Train staff on one sentence: "Please wait here. I will get the manager." Then they get the point person.
4. Have a lawyer's number ready. Put it on the script, by the register and in every manager's phone.
5. Get your I-9 files in order. Keep each worker's I-9 for three years after hire or one year after the job ends, whichever is later (USCIS M-274). Keep them where you can produce them within three business days.
6. Collect emergency contacts. California's SB 294 required employers to let workers name an emergency contact by March 30, 2026. From January 1, 2026, if a worker is arrested or detained at work, or during work hours and you know about it, you must notify that contact (DIR).
7. Give the yearly rights notice. SB 294 also requires a written notice to each worker by February 1 every year. It covers rights when law enforcement comes to work and the right to notice of an inspection (DIR).

What do we do when agents arrive?

Your point person does this, in order:

1. Stay calm and polite. Do not run, shout or block anyone with your body.
2. Ask who they are and why they are here. Ask for names and badge numbers.
3. Ask to see any warrant or paper, and read it. Do not let them into private areas while you read.
4. Check who signed it. A judicial warrant is signed by a judge and names a court. It lists the place to be searched. An administrative warrant (often Form I-200 or I-205) is signed by an immigration officer. Legal Aid at Work says only a warrant signed by a judge lets agents into private areas of a workplace (Legal Aid at Work). The federal rule itself says only "a warrant" (8 CFR 287.8(f)(2)). See "What the law says is still being sorted out" below.
5. Say clearly if you do not consent: "I do not consent to a search of private areas. Please wait while I call our lawyer."
6. Call your lawyer and your local rapid response line.
7. Write down what happens. Names, badges, number of agents, cars and plates, who was questioned, what was taken. Photos of the warrant help (Legal Aid at Work).

If agents have a judicial warrant, let them do what it allows. Stay out of the way. Watch that they stay in the places it names.

What must we never do?

• Never hide a worker, help someone slip out a back door, or move people to avoid agents. Federal law makes it a crime to conceal, harbor or shield someone from detection when you know or recklessly ignore that they are here unlawfully (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii)).
• Never lie to agents or hand over false papers.
• Never destroy or change records, including I-9s.
• Never touch or physically block an agent.
• Never sort workers into groups by status or tell agents who you think lacks papers.

Silence is not lying. You can say, "I want to speak with our lawyer before I answer."

What can our workers do?

Everyone, whatever their status, can stay silent and ask for a lawyer (Legal Aid at Work). Your workers can decline to sign papers until they talk with a lawyer. You can tell them this in advance. Do not tell them to lie or run. Share What to do if ICE comes to your work and red cards with your team before anything happens.

What if we get a Notice of Inspection?

1. Note the date. You have at least three business days to produce the I-9s (ICE). ICE often also asks for payroll, a list of current and former workers, and business licenses.
2. Call an employment or immigration lawyer the same day.
3. Tell your workers within 72 hours. California requires a posted notice in the language you usually use with workers. It must name the agency, the date of the inspection and what it is about. If you have a union, tell the union too (Labor Code 90.2).
4. Do not reverify workers or ask for new documents because of the notice.
5. When results come, give each affected worker a copy within 72 hours. Include what is wrong, the time to fix it, and the date of any meeting (Labor Code 90.2). Fines for a first violation of these notice rules run $2,000 to $5,000 (Labor Code 90.2(c)).

If ICE finds technical errors, you get at least 10 business days to correct them (ICE). If you get a Notice of Intent to Fine, you have 30 days from receiving it to ask for a hearing.

What do we do right after agents leave?

1. Account for every worker. Who was taken? Who left?
2. Call each detained worker's emergency contact. This is required in California when you know a worker was arrested at work (DIR).
3. Call rapid response. In San Mateo County, (203) 666-4472. In Santa Clara County, (408) 290-1144. Both answer 24/7 (San Mateo County). Outside the Bay Area, find your local line on the CCIJ statewide rapid response list.
4. Help families find the worker with the ICE Online Detainee Locator. New arrests may not show up right away (ICE).
5. Write up your notes while you still remember, and give a copy to your lawyer.
6. Talk to your lawyer about final pay for anyone detained. See What do I owe my workers?
7. Check on the team. People who saw it will be shaken. Mental health care without fear lists free support.

Can we use an ICE visit against a worker?

No. California bars threatening to report, or reporting, a worker's or family member's suspected status because the worker used a workplace right (Labor Code 244(b)). From January 1, 2027, AB 2495 (Stats. 2026, ch. 748) also bars conduct based on a worker's perceived status that would deter them from using a right, with penalties up to $10,000 per person per violation (LegiScan). Workers can file a retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner within one year (Labor Commissioner).

Questions owners ask

Can I ask agents to wait outside? Yes, you can ask them to wait in a public area while you read papers and call your lawyer. You cannot force them.

Do I have to answer questions about my workers? You can say you want your lawyer present before you answer. Do not lie.

Can I put up "Private" signs? You can mark doors to nonpublic areas so staff know where the line is. A sign does not stop an agent with a judicial warrant, and it does not replace saying out loud that you do not consent.

What if I am undocumented myself? You have the same right to stay silent. Make the plan in How to protect your business now, and see Make a family preparedness plan.

Should I check my workers' papers again to be safe? No. Unneeded reverification can break California law. Ask a lawyer first.

Who can help?

• Legal Aid at Work: 415-864-8848; Workers' Rights Clinic, East Palo Alto line (415) 404-9093 (Legal Aid at Work).
• Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA): (650) 326-6440 (CLSEPA).
• Rapid response: San Mateo County (203) 666-4472; Santa Clara County (408) 290-1144.
• Outside the Bay Area: DOJ list of free legal service providers.
• More: Free legal help in the Bay Area.

Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

Is there a script I can print?