Know this Now: Immigration Policy Shifts for Employers

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Your voice is needed in Washington DC Join ABIC and our cosponsors for “Secure America’s Workforce” Fly-In, March 25 – 26 in Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and urge Congress and the White House to move forward common-sense immigration policies. Register to join us and our wonderful co-sponsors today.
Upcoming webinar: Our next Employer Rights and Responsibilities Webinar is Feb. 28 at 11 AM CST / 12 PM EST, with Rebecca Shi, CEO of ABIC, and Anna Morzy, Partner at Mehlman Jacobs LLP.

Register for the webinar or add your name to become a co-sponsor.
ABIC issued a response to the U.S. consumer price news dominating financial headlines this week. Inflation rose to 3% annually in January, up by the largest margin in 18 months, and our statement raises the urgency for commonsense solutions to stabilize the workforce and lower prices for everyday Americans.
Comité de 100 members also spoke with the Wall Street Journal earlier in the week about how threats of mass deportations are hurting small businesses across the country.

News Briefing

Immigration Enforcement and Deportations

ICE is targeting new immigration arrest quotas of 1,200–1,500 daily nationwide and 75 per field office. Current and former ICE officials, as well as external experts warn the quotas could lead to “more indiscriminate enforcement tactics” and the detention of undocumented individuals without criminal histories.
Two senior ICE officials were removed from their jobs and reassigned amid dissatisfaction over low deportation numbers. Despite a reported average of close to 800 arrests per day by late January, the numbers have not met President Trump’s expectations. Factors such as lack of funds, detention space and infrastructure have been cited as challenges.
The U.S. began deporting undocumented immigrants from Africa and Asia to Panama this week, a move that could allow the Trump administration to speed deportations of people from nations that resist accepting deportation flights.
IRS agents may be deputized for immigration enforcement, if Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gets approval from the Treasury Secretary for IRS criminal investigators to join deportation efforts. These agents would reportedly focus on businesses employing undocumented workers and human trafficking networks.
FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Los Angeles field offices are being called on to assist ICE in an upcoming ‘large scale’ immigration operation in the area in February, according to documents leaked to the Los Angeles Times.

News from Capitol Hill

Both the Senate Budget Committee and House Budget committee passed their key budget plans in committee that will help unlock a process called “reconciliation” (learn more about what that is here) to help achieve President Trump’s policy priorities including immigration enforcement, tax cuts, energy and defense. Republicans are debating whether the budget should be done via one or two bills, Senate Republicans are on the two-bill track and pushed their narrower initial budget resolution out of committee on Wednesday, while House Republicans revealed their blueprint for one larger bill with $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.
The House passed a resolution Wednesday to end work permit extensions. If it becomes law, it will impact immigrants with pending work authorization renewals, including DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, asylum seekers and refugees as well as essential workers in key industries facing labor shortages. Link to more info

Industry Spotlight: Agriculture Anxieties Over Mass Deportations

Farmers are expressing concern over the impact of mass deportations on their workforce, and America’s food and dairy production, with one farmer telling the Independent “We’ll have to go vegan.” See new infographic data on foreign-born workers by industry.
Watch these news clips to hear directly from employers in the cattle industry in Colorado on NBC, a New Jersey fruit and vegetable farmer and a dairy farmer in New York speaking with CBS, and ABIC CEO Rebecca Shi speaking with PBS about agriculture impacts.

Get Involved

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Join one of ABIC’s Councils of 100 and let your voice be heard with your peers – sign up here. The Council of 100 is a coalition of top business leaders working to advance common-sense workforce solutions.

In Their Own Words
More quotes from ABIC and Comité de 100 members speaking to the Wall Street Journal for the article Trump Immigration Moves Hurt Small Businesses

Speaking on the impact of mass deportation on our food system:
“If you were to remove a significant part of our farm workforce, we’re going to start seeing $20 lettuce, $16 cartons of eggs, or no milk. Because nearly all of the dairy farmers and farm workers here in our nation are immigrants.”- ABIC CEO Rebecca Shi

Martínez Rosas Executive Director of United We Dream Action writing in the New York Times:

“Any moral argument about immigration has to be tethered to material self-interest.Undocumented workers are holding up the economy. They build houses, staff our hospitals, feed our families, care for the youngest and oldest in our society.”