Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's point man for mass deportations and border security, on Wednesday suggested that the administration plans to "massively expand" immigration enforcement in U.S. workplaces.
The Trump administration initially targeted illegal immigrants with a criminal record — "the worst of the worst" — with 75% of arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the first 100 days of Trump's second term aimed at migrants with criminal convictions or charges, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
But the administration has indicated several times that no one in the country illegally is off the table.
"Worksite enforcement operations are going to massively expand," Homan said Wednesday in an interview with Semafor.
Homan's comment came amid several worksite enforcement operations conducted by ICE in the past week, including one on Tuesday at a meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska, that led to the detention of more than 70 illegal immigrants, many with criminal records. ICE said it was the largest worksite enforcement operation in Nebraska in Trump's second term.
Also Tuesday, ICE said it arrested 12 illegal aliens in targeted worksite enforcement operations Monday in Harlingen, Texas, and San Benito, Texas. The people arrested are citizens of Mexico and El Salvador.
On Wednesday, ICE said it conducted worksite enforcement operations at nine illicit massage businesses in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, based on state criminal search warrants for prostitution and pandering. ICE said 10 Chinese nationals, all female, were detained.
Under federal law, employers are required to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all individuals they hire and document that information on a federal employment eligibility form.
The rioting in Los Angeles began after federal agents raided four workplaces in the city's garment district as part of criminal investigations, according to Semafor. Homan told Semafor the government will seek sanctions against employers.
U.S. companies are "freaking out" about the possibility of civil and criminal sanctions, or about the operational impact of losing a huge labor force, Chris Thomas, a partner at Holland & Hart who represents employers in immigration cases, told Semafor.
He said clients have been "calling in a panic — asking if they should be looking for ways to cut out potentially undocumented workers." He added that his clients do not know whether they are employing any.
Employers are "very scared — folks in LA, particularly," Bruce Buchanan, a leading immigration lawyer in Nashville, Tennessee, told Semafor.
Trump appeared to respond to those worries on Thursday morning in a post on Truth Social:
"Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!"
And major public companies have started to warn investors that their business models depend on migrant labor.
"Increased enforcement efforts with respect to existing immigration laws by governmental authorities may disrupt a portion of our workforce or our operations," Smithfield, a major meatpacker, wrote in late March, the first time such language had appeared in its securities filings, according to Semafor.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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