A
recent CNN article
details how U.S. Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents recently raided
98 7-Eleven stores nationwide in order to perform audits of employment
records and interviews of managers and employees. The targeted 7-Eleven
stores are located in Washington D.C. and 11 other states, including California.
As a result of these raids, ICE agents arrested 21 individuals who were
suspected of being in the country with no legal immigration status. The
raids represent the largest workplace enforcement initiative taken so
far by the Trump administration. According to acting ICE director Thomas
Homan, the goal of this initiative was to send a strong message to employers
that if they illegal employ undocumented workers, they will face serious
repercussions. Homan publicly pledged last fall to quadruple worksite
immigration enforcement actions in 2018. The company who owns 7-Eleven
attempted to distance itself from the errant stores, emphasizing that
the stores are franchises with independent owners. It reiterated that
the company takes compliance with immigration laws very seriously and
that it has terminated the franchise agreements of all of the stores who
allegedly employed undocumented immigrants. ICE characterized its recent
raid as a “follow-up” to the 7-Eleven raids that took place
back in 2013, in order to ensure that 7-Eleven stores were complying with
relevant employment and immigration laws. As a result of those raids,
nine franchise owners and managers were charged with conspiracy to commit
wire fraud, use of stolen identities, and concealing and harboring undocumented
immigrant employees. Eight of the nine individuals arrested pled guilty
to the charges and were ordered to pay back more than $2.6 million in
back wages. Legal representation is essential to fighting back against
deportation charges brought by the federal government. The Oakland deportation
defense attorneys of
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C.
know how to help you through every step of your deportation proceedings,
regardless of the form of relief that may be available under immigration
law. Take the first step today toward securing the future of your family
in the United States, and call our office at (510) 756-4468 to set up
a legal evaluation with one of our highly skilled California immigration lawyers.
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