Latest news with #E-Verify
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE raids ramp up on Florida's Space Coast with construction workers, landscapers detained
The Brief ICE Agents and Brevard County deputies are making arrests in Cocoa. Eyewitnesses say the latest string of arrests happened at an apartment complex and involved a construction crew. A new Congressional bill was introduced on Wednesday to improve transparency with increased immigration arrests. COCOA, Fla. - The Brevard County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday that deputies assisted federal immigration authorities in Cocoa this week, sparking concern among residents and drawing new calls for transparency in immigration enforcement. What we know The Brevard County Sheriff's Office confirmed deputies assisted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on Tuesday in Cocoa. Witnesses recorded the interaction with law enforcement that took place at an apartment complex on Clearlake Road. In images shared with FOX 35, multiple deputy and immigration vehicles were parked outside the Oak Meadows leasing office, and at least one vehicle was towed from the scene. Other photos sent to FOX 35 show other landscape workers being detained by immigration authorities and deputies earlier in the month on State Road 520 and Blake Avenue. Legal experts say employers can face consequences for hiring undocumented workers in Florida. People who saw the arrest at the apartment complex say residents and workers are fearful and are seeing authorities in the area more often. A new bill, called the Stop Unlawful Detention and End Mistreatment (SUDEM) Act, was introduced by Congressman Maxwell Frost on Wednesday to try and increase transparency with ICE agents sharing information publicly when arrests are made. The Speaker of the House says more focus should instead be put on supporting ICE agents and making sure they have resources to make arrests. What we don't know It's unclear how many people were detained in either situation in Cocoa. It's also unclear if their families were alerted by ICE about the arrests. We don't know if the people had warrants out for other crimes or only their immigration status. What they're saying People who saw the arrests are worried about families being notified since they're happening at work. Legal experts say it's not just employees who can face consequences if working illegally. Employers can also be held accountable in Florida. "Nobody should be fearful of living day to day in their homes or going to work," said Amaya Ruiz, who is concerned about how the arrests are affecting families in the community. "For employers that have more than 25 employees they have to do mandatory E-Verify to make sure they're not hiring undocumented workers," said civil attorney Carlos Martin with Forest Lake Law. "This bill is a step towards pulling back the curtain on our immigration and detention system," said Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost, who just filed new legislation to improve transparency with ICE arrests. "It's a patriotic duty. They're understaffed. They're overwhelmed with the workload. They're trying to go after the dangerous criminal illegal aliens," said Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who says ICE agents need more resources to continue making arrests. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source FOX 35's Reporter Esther Bower has been monitoring social media for weeks when people have shared photos and videos of ICE and Brevard deputies arresting workers in Cocoa. She spoke with Brevard Sheriff to confirm their deputies were assisting ICE on June 18, 2025. She also interviewed an eyewitness to the latest arrests. On the same day, she watched a press briefing where new legislation was introduced by a Central Florida lawmaker on the immigration issue.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
With Trump's immigration crackdown, Tacoma stands for justice
It's a very scary time for immigrants and refugees in this country. Across the nation, there is more scrutiny on immigrants. Actions at the federal level are obfuscating rules and guidelines for immigrants and refugees, which raises concerns in the immigrant community around travel and civil rights. Tacoma residents experience this fear. Each of us has been pulled aside from a crowd and asked in a whisper whether individuals living in Tacoma are safe. In Tacoma, we are doing our best within our legal authority to provide safe access to city services. Public safety comes in all shapes and forms. One of these forms is access to government services. It is in our entire community's best interest if everyone feels safe interacting with the government. It should not be threatening to go to Tacoma Public Utilities and pay your water bill. We want people to feel safe calling 911 to report a car accident or seek medical help in an emergency. We want all residents to trust in the system enough to show up at court when necessary and have access to documents in languages they understand. Maintaining access to the systems that govern us is critical for those systems to operate with integrity and in service to our community. It is also important that people have access to their jobs and the day-to-day places that a society relies upon. This is not just because every person deserves to be treated with dignity — which they do — but also because it also drives our economy forward. According to a report from the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, immigrants are vital members of Washington state's bustling economy and vibrant community. Data from the Immigration Research Initiative shows that immigrant workers, which include green card holders, asylees, people with temporary protected status, and undocumented immigrants, play an outsized role in strengthening Washington's labor force and economy. We hear every day the demand that elected officials lead on protecting our immigrant and refugee neighbors. Tacoma is acting. The City Council passed Resolution 41627 to direct city resources be restricted from use for investigation and surveillance of individuals based on immigration or citizenship status without a court order. The city of Tacoma is in full compliance with the Keep Washington Working Act, which clarifies how local law enforcement engages with federal immigration law. We celebrate Pierce County's recent ordinance change to end the use of E-Verify, bringing it into alignment with Tacoma's practices. We are doing what we can locally to make city services safe and accessible, and the work is ongoing. In America, everyone has the right to due process. Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. It is fundamental to our very democracy. We champion sharing information about immigrant rights and the right to assemble. As council members, we keep abreast of court challenges to recent federal actions and how all the federal changes will have local impacts in Tacoma. Stand with us in preserving the safety of immigrants in Tacoma. Olgy Diaz and Sandesh Sadalge are members of the Tacoma City Council. Diaz was appointed as an at-large member in 2022 and elected to a full term in 2023. Her parents immigrated from Guatemala, and she was born in Pierce County. Sadalge was appointed in 2024 to represent District 4. He immigrated from India at age 6 and became a U.S. citizen as an adult.
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Immigration raids targeting ag businesses increase
Immigration raids targeting ag businesses increase Show Caption Hide Caption House committee grills DHS Sec. Noem on due process, farming Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced questions from a House committee on due process and immigration policy impacting agriculture. Progressive Farmer's Chris Clayton reported that 'Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are starting to more aggressively target agriculture and food processing facilities around the country as reports over the past week from (Nebraska), New Mexico and California also highlight.' 'In Omaha, ICE agents hit a small meat processor, Glenn Valley Foods, rounding up as many as 100 workers suspected of being in the country illegally and potentially providing fake documents to gain employment,' Clayton reported. 'ICE stated it was the largest enforcement operation in Nebraska since President Donald Trump took office. Nebraska is considered the country's largest red-meat processing state with packing plants in towns and cities across the state, including multiple major plants in southeast Omaha where the raid occurred. Nearly every one of those areas also has a larger Latino population who make up the bulk of the workforce at these facilities.' More: ICE detains workers at Omaha meat plant, drawing hundreds of protesters: What we know 'Glenn Valley Foods processes and makes thinly sliced minute steaks, Gary's QuickSteak, at its facility,' Clayton reported. 'Gary Rohwer, owner and CEO of the company, told an Omaha TV station that federal investigators told him 97 employees had false identification. Rohwer told the TV station his company uses the federal E-Verify program.' 'The ICE raids on agriculture reflect the demands of President Donald Trump's aide Stephen Miller who met with ICE leaders in late May demanding the agency increase its volume of daily arrests, the Wall Street Journal reported,' Clayton reported. 'Agriculture is an industry ripe for aggressive actions given a high volume of undocumented workers in farming and in food processing facilities, going back decades. Agriculture groups have pressed for years for Congress to pass legislation that would legalize the workforce, but those bills have failed to pass.' Roughly 40% of US farmworkers are unauthorized to work The USDA's Economic Research Service reported in January that 'the share of hired crop farmworkers who were not legally authorized to work in the United States grew from roughly 14 percent in 1989–91 to almost 55 percent in 1999–2001; in recent years it has declined to about 40 percent,' the ERS reported. 'In 2020–22, 32 percent of crop farmworkers were U.S. born, 7 percent were immigrants who had obtained U.S. citizenship, 19 percent were other authorized immigrants (primarily permanent residents or green-card holders), and the remaining 42 percent held no work authorization.' More: Trump admin's emerging surveillance state raises privacy concerns 'The share of workers who are U.S. born is highest in the Midwest, while the share who are unauthorized is highest in California,' the ERS reported. 'Legal immigration status is difficult to measure: not many surveys ask the question, and unauthorized respondents may be reluctant to answer truthfully if asked,' the ERS reported. 'The U.S. Department of Labor's National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) provides data on farmworkers' legal immigration status. NAWS data, believed to be of high quality, is gathered by trained and trusted enumerators who conduct face-to-face interviews with workers at their job sites and with their employers' permission.' More: Iowa egg supplier denies allegations of human trafficking, harassment At the House Agriculture Committee hearing yesterday, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins was asked about ICE targeting agriculture business and the ag labor industry more broadly. She told the committee that while President Donald Trump's first commitment is to ensuring that all laws are followed, he also understands the challenges of finding labor and that his cabinet is 'doing everything we can to make sure that these farmers and ranchers have the labor that they need.' Agriculture-raids take place in California and New Mexico too KOAT Action News' Aliyah Chavez reported that 'eleven people were arrested during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at Outlook Dairy Farms near Lovington, (New Mexico) last week, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Federal officials said nine of those arrested, while ICE was executing a search warrant, were previously banned from the United States.' More: Ohio Democrats, Asian groups oppose ban on property sales to Chinese, other immigrants In addition, Clayton wrote that 'the Los Angeles Times reported, 'Alarm spread through California agricultural centers Tuesday as panicked workers reported that federal immigration authorities — who had largely refrained from major enforcement action in farming communities in the first months of the Trump administration — were showing up at farm fields and packinghouses from the Central Coast to the San Joaquin Valley.'' ICE protest in Columbus calls for immigration rais to stop A protest in downtown Columbus called for ICE raids and activity to cease in the city. 'ICE agents raided produce farms in Ventura County, California. The CEO of the Ventura County Farm Bureau cited that immigration agents visited five produce-packing facilities and farms in the area. Farms were also raided in Tulare County where farm workers had been picking blueberries, the LA Times reported,' Clayton reported. 'Dozens of immigrant workers were detained. Video posted by a California TV station showed workers fleeing and ICE agents arresting them in the field.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Homan says Trump administration to ramp up workplace immigration enforcement
President Trump's border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday workplace immigration enforcement will 'massively expand' in an interview with Semafor. His comments come days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents removed dozens of immigrants allegedly without legal status working at a meat packaging facility in Nebraska as Los Angeles protesters continue to demonstrate against the Trump administration's widespread push for deportations. 'They're coming here for a better life and a job, and I get that,' Homan told Semafor. 'The more you remove those magnets, the less people are going to come. If they can't get a job most of them aren't going to come,' he added. Most immigrants without legal status are able to find work as delivery drivers or in the fields of agriculture or the service industry, according to the Center for Migration Studies. Farmers and food delivery companies have begun to complain about the removal of immigrants without legal status, arguing deportations threaten their workforce and ability to operate. '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,' Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post. '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,' he added. However, in March, DoorDash warned that modifying immigration policies could thwart their business model. 'Changes in certain laws and regulations, including immigration and labor and employment laws, or laws that require us to make changes to our platform that decrease the accessibility, including removing access to our platform, or flexibility provided to Dashers in certain jurisdictions, may result in a decrease in the pool of Dashers, which may result in increased competition for Dashers or higher costs of recruitment and engagement,' DoorDash wrote in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 'If we fail to attract Dashers, retain existing Dashers on favorable terms, or maintain or increase the use of our platform by existing Dashers, we may not be able to meet the demands of merchants and consumers and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected,' they added. The Nebraska business owner whose facility was raided by ICE on Tuesday said he's worked to ensure that employees are legally in the United States by checking their identity with E-Verify, a system managed by the Department of Homeland Security. However, officials told him the system was 'broken' after the raid, which left him clueless on how to properly process individuals who've applied for employment. 'I mean, what am I supposed to do with that? This is your system, run by the government. And you're raiding me because your system is broken?' Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods, told The Associated Press. ICE officials told him they'd help him figure out the best method for hiring, while Trump on Thursday pledged to sign an executive order guaranteeing 'common sense' policies for farm workers that could be roiled by deportations. 'Our farmers are being hurt badly. They have very good workers. They've worked for them for 20 years. They're not citizens, but they've turned out to be, you know, great,' Trump told reporters. 'We can't take farmers, take all their people and send them back because they don't have maybe what they're supposed to have, maybe not.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's immigration crackdown misses a major target: employers
Trump immigration agents aren't going after employers — they are rounding up farmworkers, day labors in Home Depot parking lots, kitchen staff, construction crews and meat-packing plant workers. These are literally the workers building and feeding America. But don't worry. This isn't about the poor immigrants who do the dirty jobs that Americans won't do, often under terrible working conditions or the unfairness of splitting families and upending their lives. It's about the employers who rely on undocumented labor — and their deafening silence as their workforce gets swept up by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. ICE work raids and the agency's tactics arresting migrants at immigration hearings came to a boiling point over the past few days as Trump sent federal troops to quash protests in Los Angeles. The protests have spread across the nation. I've been wondering why Trump is only going after the workers, while the businesses that hire them — often in clear violation of federal law — get a pass? Consider this: Undocumented immigrants contribute nearly $90 billion in federal, state and local taxes, according to the American Immigration Council. That means employers hired them, withheld taxes and paid them — all while violating federal law. After all, there is a tool called E-Verify, the online system that lets employers confirm whether a new hire is authorized to work in the U.S. In some instances, failure to use E-Verity can result in fines, suspension or revocation of business licenses. And yet, undocumented immigrants keep landing jobs practically in every corner of America. So, why aren't immigration agents rounding up employers? Because enforcement is selective — and businesses are being let off the hook. Take the case in Nebraska this week. ICE agents arrested nearly 100 workers a meatpacking plant. Local media reported that its owner told investigators the employees had used false IDs and that the company had used E-Verify. If that's true, then the system flawed. And if so, why hasn't the federal government fixed it, especially given longstanding concerns about its accuracy? The real answer? Business interests, large and small, rely heavily on undocumented labor, and everyone has looked the other way for decades. Corporate lobbying groups like the Chamber of Commerce and local business leaders, including those in Arizona, have helped shape immigration policy, blocking anti-immigrant laws and pushing for work visa reforms and paths to legalization. But now? Crickets. Where are those business owners and industry leaders now that Trump is rounding up and deporting their workforce? Where are the defenders of capitalism now that even deeper labor shortages will likely hit construction, agriculture and food production? Opinion: LA riots expose a hard truth about Democrats They're quiet — terrified of Trump, avoiding his wrath at all costs, even if it means sacrificing the very people who helped them build their wealth. In California, for instance, where Trump's raids have hit the homebuilding industry hard, multiple homebuilders didn't respond to requests for comments from local media. And the head of the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C., could only manage to say that they're 'watching all of the developments very carefully.' That's it. I'm not seriously calling for employers to be jailed — Trump already has taken punishing political opponents to alarming extremes. But the hypocrisy is glaring. Politicians, executives and business owners profited from undocumented immigrants, including Trump's own business that have employed undocumented immigrants. More than 4% of the nation's 170 million-person workforce is made up of undocumented immigrants, The New York Times reported. These workers are younger as the U.S. workforce ages, meaning that immigrants could potentially keep generating billions of dollars in federal and state tax revenue without getting any of those benefits in return. I don't expect employers to join the protesters or admit guilt to illegal hiring, especially since there are plenty of deniability loopholes available to them. But they could at least sound the alarm about what could happen if we don't have people to build homes, pack meat and pick produce. Instead, they stay silent — betraying not just the workers on which they rely, but the very system of capitalism that they claim to champion. Elvia Díaz is editorial page editor for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or Follow her on X, @elviadiaz1. Like this column? Get more opinions in your email inbox by signing up for our free opinions newsletter, which publishes Monday through Friday. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ICE immigration raids only target workers, not their bosses | Opinion
