SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out raids on Wednesday at nearly 100 7-Eleven stores across the nation. (Photo: Mr. Blue MauMau/Flickr/cc)
'Unnerving': ICE Agents Carry Out Raids at Nearly 100 7-Elevens Across Nation
Top immigration official warns the blitz is "a harbinger of what's to come"
Jan 10, 2018
Immigrant rights advocates denounced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids carried out Wednesday at nearly 100 7-Eleven stores across the nation.
According to Cristobal Gutierrez, employment legal advocate at Make the Road New York, they are "yet another example of the escalating attacks from the Trump administration and its rogue ICE agents on immigrant communities."
In the early morning raids at 98 stores in 17 states and Washington, D.C., agents conducted interviews and left audit notifications, and arrested 21 individuals suspected of being undocumented.
"Today's actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan.
"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet," he added.
The management-targeting raids were conducted to follow up on 2013 investigations to ensure that "the company has taken the proper steps towards more responsible hiring and employment practices," ICE said.
Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc., for its part, put the blame for potential unlawful hiring on franchise owners, who "are solely responsible for their employees, including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States," the company said.
The National Immigration Law Center described the actions as "extremely unnerving," while Gutierrez called them "a family separation tactic--nothing more, nothing less--meant to stoke fear in the hearts of our community."
Both groups also underscored that all workers, including those who are undocumented, have legal rights.
Derek Benner, a top official at ICE, told AP that the blitz was "the first of many" and "a harbinger of what's to come" for employers and could target any "industry, big, medium and small."
Gutierrez, however, stressed that "In a moment where Trump and ICE are doing everything they can to harm our communities, we are equipping our community with the tools they need to protect themselves and their families. Our communities are here to stay."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Immigrant rights advocates denounced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids carried out Wednesday at nearly 100 7-Eleven stores across the nation.
According to Cristobal Gutierrez, employment legal advocate at Make the Road New York, they are "yet another example of the escalating attacks from the Trump administration and its rogue ICE agents on immigrant communities."
In the early morning raids at 98 stores in 17 states and Washington, D.C., agents conducted interviews and left audit notifications, and arrested 21 individuals suspected of being undocumented.
"Today's actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan.
"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet," he added.
The management-targeting raids were conducted to follow up on 2013 investigations to ensure that "the company has taken the proper steps towards more responsible hiring and employment practices," ICE said.
Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc., for its part, put the blame for potential unlawful hiring on franchise owners, who "are solely responsible for their employees, including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States," the company said.
The National Immigration Law Center described the actions as "extremely unnerving," while Gutierrez called them "a family separation tactic--nothing more, nothing less--meant to stoke fear in the hearts of our community."
Both groups also underscored that all workers, including those who are undocumented, have legal rights.
Derek Benner, a top official at ICE, told AP that the blitz was "the first of many" and "a harbinger of what's to come" for employers and could target any "industry, big, medium and small."
Gutierrez, however, stressed that "In a moment where Trump and ICE are doing everything they can to harm our communities, we are equipping our community with the tools they need to protect themselves and their families. Our communities are here to stay."
Immigrant rights advocates denounced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids carried out Wednesday at nearly 100 7-Eleven stores across the nation.
According to Cristobal Gutierrez, employment legal advocate at Make the Road New York, they are "yet another example of the escalating attacks from the Trump administration and its rogue ICE agents on immigrant communities."
In the early morning raids at 98 stores in 17 states and Washington, D.C., agents conducted interviews and left audit notifications, and arrested 21 individuals suspected of being undocumented.
"Today's actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan.
"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet," he added.
The management-targeting raids were conducted to follow up on 2013 investigations to ensure that "the company has taken the proper steps towards more responsible hiring and employment practices," ICE said.
Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc., for its part, put the blame for potential unlawful hiring on franchise owners, who "are solely responsible for their employees, including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States," the company said.
The National Immigration Law Center described the actions as "extremely unnerving," while Gutierrez called them "a family separation tactic--nothing more, nothing less--meant to stoke fear in the hearts of our community."
Both groups also underscored that all workers, including those who are undocumented, have legal rights.
Derek Benner, a top official at ICE, told AP that the blitz was "the first of many" and "a harbinger of what's to come" for employers and could target any "industry, big, medium and small."
Gutierrez, however, stressed that "In a moment where Trump and ICE are doing everything they can to harm our communities, we are equipping our community with the tools they need to protect themselves and their families. Our communities are here to stay."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.