LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Southland immigrant-advocacy groups have joined forces to announce a campaign to teach business owners and workers how to respond if federal immigration authorities conduct a workplace raid.
“While employers and immigrant workers need to resist giving into paralyzing and unreasonable fear, it makes sense to be prepared and to have a plan and know what to do if ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) shows up at their place of work,” said Nayantara Mehta, staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project.
The campaign includes a guide for employers prepared by the NELP and the National Immigrant Law Center and titled “What to do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace.” The guide, available online at www.planforICE.com, is available in five languages and outlines steps businesses should take in response to a workplace raid or immigration-enforcement action. It also outlines employers’ rights and responsibilities.
“We’ve seen an increase in immigration enforcement, which is causing panic in immigrant communities around the country,” according to Shiu-Ming Cheer, staff attorney with the National Immigration Law Center. “The more that we can prepare and defend against these types of actions, the better off our workplaces and communities will be.
“This guide is a unique way to bring together employers and immigrant rights’ advocates. It is a proactive step by workers’ rights and immigrants’ rights group to prepare for raids by engaging with the business community.”
The organizations involved in the campaign will also be holding seminars in coming weeks for business owners in Korean, Thai, Mandarin and Vietnamese.
The first, in Korean, will be held Aug. 3 at the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles.