ICE Targets 7-Eleven Stores Nationwide

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.