Hotels are Not Exempt from Raids: Worksite Compliance Practices
In the on again, off again rhetoric about which industries should be exempt from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Raids, do not be fooled into complacency.
With record-breaking numbers of I-9 raids from the second Trump Administration, now is a crucial time to review your I-9 Compliance and Rapid Response Policies. In June 2025, the Trump Administration lifted a temporary pause on immigration raids at farms, restaurants, and hotels. With a goal of 1 million deportations in 2025 and an increase in the budget for immigration enforcement and border security of around $170 billion, with $75 billion specifically earmarked for ICE, it is more likely that immigration raids will spike. While this prospect can be anxiety-inducing, ensuring your records are up to date and accurate is the best defensive measure.
Immigration in the Second Trump Administration
Immigration in the second Trump Administration has been tumultuous as enforcement efforts have drastically increased while lawful status for hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States have been terminated. Many of these individuals are those who claimed humanitarian parole under the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan Parole Program (CHNV) and were stripped of their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) in April 2025.
While filings for injunctions immediately followed the decision to revoke the work authorization for those under the CHNV Parole Program, this has caused confusion for employers as facially valid EADs for hundreds of thousands of employees were no longer acceptable. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for several countries, creating further potential impacts for the workforce of your hotel.
On June 20, 2025, those employers utilizing the “E-Verify” program began receiving emails from DHS stating that a “Status Change Report” would be issued to assist employers in identifying those employees whose work authorization had been dependent on revoked Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). These emails state, “Your organization may have one or more employees whose EAD was recently revoked by DHS.” It can be expected that the DHS will treat these “Status Change Report” emails as constructive knowledge and grounds to necessitate an inspection of the hotel’s I-9 records. If your hotel utilizes the E-Verify program, it is imperative to remain on the outlook for these emails to ensure full compliance.
In an ever-changing environment, it can be difficult to ascertain the policy changes that will impact your hotel and workforce. Furthermore, while the stated annual deportation goals of the Trump Administration outstrip the numbers from previous administrations, the actual number of deportations is far below the target. This, as it appears, has caused an increase in raids and arrests in the hope of achieving its goal. Arrests have more than doubled in most states around the country, with some states, like Idaho, seeing over a 900% increase in immigration-related arrests. This approach to immigration enforcement further necessitates employers taking steps to ensure protection of their workforces.
I-9
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) imposes regulations on employers to complete and retain Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for every person they hire for employment after November 6, 1986, in the United States as long as the person works for payment.
In addition, the IRCA stipulates that employers may not discriminate in recruitment, hiring or discharge on the basis of national origin or citizenship status; may not request "more or different [employment authorization] documents" than those required under the Act, or refuse to honor tendered documents that, on their face, "reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the individual"; and may not retaliate against workers who bring discrimination complaints. The IRCA mandates both criminal and civil penalties for violations of hiring, employment verification and non-discrimination provisions. Thus, it is extremely important to know the employer’s limited role in this process and not overcorrect due to the atmosphere of increased enforcement.
One of the more common over corrective measures that some employers have implemented in an attempt to forego issues of I-9 compliance is to implement a “Citizens Only” policy, wherein only citizens of the United States are considered and hired. However, a policy of this nature can create an entirely new set of problems, as it violates the stipulations of the IRCA barring employers from discriminating based on national origin or citizenship.
As improper compliance with IRCA can result in significant consequences, your hotel should create a policy with the proper procedures for completion of Form I-9 and disseminate this policy to all individuals who may be required to perform the verification process. Some topics that your I-9 policy should contemplate:
The process and timing of the new hire process and I-9 completion.
The process and timing for I-9 reverification.
The hotel’s policy regarding I-9 verification documentation retention, including the process for I-9 retention and the schedule to purge I-9s.
Address situations where Talent & Culture staff may need to contact a supervisor or outside counsel, including questions, no-match issues, and timing issues, with clear mechanisms and protocols.
The training process for new staff and annual refresher training.
The process and method for internal I-9 audits.
The process for determining termination related to I-9s.
Whether an electronic I-9 program is used and if so, the processes associated with it.
Whether E-Verify is used by the hotel and if so, the processes associated with it.
Form I-9 “Clean Up”
In the process of reviewing your I-9 documentation, you may realize that your files need some cleaning up as well. You may notice that some of your Form I-9s contain errors, which are subject to penalties including fines.
In Form I-9 compliance, errors are categorized into two types, technical violations and substantive violations. Technical violations can be corrected within 10 days of completion of an I-9 audit by ICE while substantive violations cannot be corrected. Your hotel’s I-9 policy should include the procedures and process for identifying and correcting errors or missing information on Form I-9. Please contact us with questions about implementing corrective action.
Action to correct potential errors in your hotel’s I-9 records are based on two types of knowledge: actual knowledge and constructive knowledge. Actual knowledge of deficiencies in I-9 records is most easily understood as willful blindness – e.g. an employee informed you that they were no longer work authorized and the hotel continued to employ that individual. The constructive knowledge standard is that of a “reasonable employer,” such as an employee presenting an EAD that has expired, and the employer accepts the document. Constructive knowledge indicates a need for further inspection of documents both presented at the time of onboarding and throughout the period of employment.
Raid Response Policies and I-9
In addition to an updated immigration policy, your hotel should also have a well-defined policy regarding its response to a raid at your property.
ICE conducts worksite immigration enforcement activities, the most visible of which is the worksite raid. During a worksite raid, ICE agents physically invade a workplace, sometimes unannounced and with force, to target workers for arrest. While the Biden Administration had directed an end to mass worksite immigration raids and directed the focus to employers who exploit undocumented workers, the Trump Administration has ended that policy and, over the summer, began conducting ICE raids at businesses. As such, it is absolutely crucial to create and maintain a robust policy to provide guidance regarding what employees should do in the event of an ICE raid.
Furthermore, it is important to understand the documents that ICE agents may show you in the instance of a raid. In the event of a raid, you may be presented with one of two different types of warrants, or no warrant at all. An Administrative Warrant is issued by a government agency, such as ICE. These warrants do not allow federal agents to enter spaces within the hotel wherein a reasonable expectation of privacy exists (e.g., the offices behind the front desk within your hotel). A Judicial Warrant, on the other hand, is signed by a judge or magistrate based on probable cause of a crime that has been or will be committed. Understanding the differences between these two warrants is essential to how you respond to the officer presenting a warrant.
Some suggested tips for employers to prepare for possible audit or raid by ICE include:
Getting ahead of the game. Have your hotel’s I-9 records, supporting documentation, and retained records audited, and review your I-9 and social mismatch procedures. If you have no written procedures, get started on drafting them. You may want to consider hiring a law firm to conduct an internal audit of your records in order to maintain attorney-client privilege over your findings.
If ICE contacts the hotel for a routine audit, make sure key employees know the employer is entitled to a 3-day notice rather than giving immediate access to records.
If raided by ICE, contact your immigration attorney immediately.
Keep a written record of any statements made by ICE agents to you or other employees.
Make sure I-9 records are kept separately from other personnel records.
If records are requested during the course of a raid, ask that the request be made in writing.
Conclusion
Immigration and worksite compliance can be complicated and difficult areas to navigate for a hotel, but with proper I-9 and worksite compliance practices in place, your hotel will be much better suited to weather the storm. Hotels should also consider establishing policies and protocols so that your employees are proactively prepared and know how to handle issues related to worksite compliance, including what to do in the event of an ICE raid.