Proactive protection

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how to prepare your business to weather immigration policy changes and investigations. 

As we get further into 2025, we continue to see immigration policies and enforcement growing and changing. The effects of this vary, from challenges getting skilled labor to fines that can be up to “$2,861 per I-9 paperwork violation and up to $28,619 per unauthorized worker” for businesses.  

And this is an issue for businesses across the country. When the topic of immigration in relation to the workforce comes up, many people think it is an issue for the states along the southern border. But recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity was reported in Bellingham, Washington. A recent article from the Roofing Contractors of Washington (RCAW) reported, “A local roofing company in Bellingham was investigated, resulting in the arrest of 37 undocumented workers. The enforcement action took place at Mount Baker Roofing, a well-known roofing company in Whatcom County. ICE agents carried out the operation on a weekday morning, targeting both the job site and administrative offices.” Not only do events like this cause disruption to your workers and operations today, but they can also have serious repercussions for businesses in the long term. 

For example, immigration-related fines can have a large impact on your business fiscally. These can “range from $250 to $10,000 per worker depending on prior offenses.” There can also be liabilities such as loss of business license/contractor credentials and civil lawsuits related to workers, competitors or government entities. On top of all that, there can be damage to your reputation in your community and with your customers. 

One of the best ways to protect yourself from immigration-related liabilities is to prepare properly. This means performing internal audits to ensure that your I-9 forms are in order and other paperwork is in place (such as “Know Your Rights” materials for employees). This is because ICE investigations are often triggered by “anonymous tips, inconsistencies in I-9 records or during unrelated audits.”  

For companies in Washington who would like to be more informed, RCAW is hosting an education event about understanding compliance and proactive preparedness for immigration investigations. This session, Know Before They Knock, will be hosted on Wednesday, September 5, 2025, at the Dockside at Dukes in Seattle (1111 Fairview Avenue North Seattle, Washington, 98109).  

Free to attend for RCAW members, there will be a presentation from guest speaker Mary Kate Fernandez about what you can do to prepare your business for changing immigration policies and ICE activity. Mary Kate is an associate at Adams and Reese who is very familiar with immigration enforcement policies. The one-hour session will cover everything from immigration rights and what to do during ICE inspections to handling I-9 audits and proactive steps to keep your business compliant and protected.  

Register for this must-attend training today (class size is limited to the first 60 RCAW members). If you’re not able to attend the meeting, you can also read up on tips for proactive compliance, such as this article by Mary Kate about I-9 audits.