PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Jennifer Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce says whether people realize it or not, “undocumented immigrants are part of our everyday life.”
As they were on his campaign trail, under a second Trump Administration, undocumented immigrants a major focus in the early days, with raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on businesses across the country being the main mode of making the new agenda public.
“These raids tend to cause disruption in families, in businesses, in communities,” says Rodriguez.
On Tuesday, ICE agents reportedly raided a car wash in Juniata Park, arresting seven people, according to South Philly-based immigrant advocacy organization Juntos. Before that, there were reports of a visit to a meat market in Rhawnhurst, and even more false reports that immigrant advocates have scrambled to respond to.
Rodriguez says the threat of these raids are already having major effects in workplaces and on overall business across the city and country.
“The labor has been reduced because their staff don’t feel comfortable going to work,” she says. “Consumer base has been significantly reduced because they don’t feel comfortable being out in the streets.”
It’s why the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is curating some toolkits from national partners and sources to guide businesses and business owners in the event ICE visits their workplace.
One of the main toolkits they share is provided by the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), but Rodriguez also says all advice business owners seek about responding to ICE raids should come from an immigration attorney as they tend to center around knowing rights and responsibilities.
“What to say, what to do, not to run, not to impede ICE’s activities,” she says. “However a judicial warrant is required in order to enter the private parts of the business.”
The guide put out by ABIC breaks down how to respond in detail, from the punishments business owners could receive for employing undocumented immigrants to when ICE agents do an I-9 audit and what they can and can’t access during the raid.
It says to always review the warrant agents present and like Rodriguez, implores business owners to have access to an employment immigration attorney to contact in the event of a raid.