With immigration enforcement actions ramping up across job sites nationwide, contractors and developers can no longer afford to ignore developing a response plan in advance. If ICE shows up at your jobsite or office, you need to understand the law and your obligations. You need to develop a coherent response plan and convey that plan throughout your organization.

Here’s what construction businesses should be doing now to protect their people, projects, and reputations.

1. Know Who Is on Your Payroll And Who’s Not

Start with the fundamentals: I-9 compliance. You should have a properly completed Form I-9 on file for each and every employee. These records should be easily and promptly producible upon request. If you have not audited your records recently, you are overdue.

• Conduct internal audits with legal oversight and guidance.
• Correct errors in documentation proactively on your own as opposed to in response to government record requests.
• Do not assume your subcontractors are compliant: demand verification.

2. Tighten Up Your Subcontractor Agreements

If you are relying on third-party labor, your risk does not disappear. It just shifts.

Update your contracts to include:

• Immigration compliance clauses
• Indemnification provisions, including recovery of fees, costs, and penalties associated with lack of payroll or immigration compliance
• Audit rights

If your current agreements do not have these terms, it is time to revisit them.

3. Train Your Supervisors in Advance

Your site supervisors are your first responders in an enforcement scenario. Make sure they are ready.

They should know:

• What to do (and not do) during a raid
• Who to contact immediately
• How to avoid escalating the situation
• What documents they can and should request and what obligations they have in response

A short training session now can prevent a full-blown crisis later.

4. Prepare for the Human Impact

Fear is already affecting job site attendance and morale. You do not need to take a political stance, but you do need to lead and protect your organization with clarity and compassion.

• Communicate your policies clearly
• Offer access to legal resources or employee assistance programs
• Plan for labor disruptions

5. Prepare Your Office and Job Sites for Enforcement Actions

If ICE shows up, your physical environment matters. Here is how to prepare:

At the Office:

• Designate a response team: Identify who will interact with agents and who will notify legal counsel.
• Secure sensitive records: Keep I-9s and personnel files organized and accessible—but not left out in the open.
• Clearly define public versus private areas. Your obligations of cooperation may be far more limited in private areas than public. These differences only apply if you can clearly define what is public versus private in your business in advance.
• Train your front desk staff: They should know not to grant access without a warrant and to immediately notify your designated point of contact.

At the Job Site:

• Post clear signage: Indicate that unauthorized access is prohibited.
• Limit access points: Control who enters and exits the site.
• Have a communication protocol: Supervisors should know how to discreetly notify leadership if agents arrive.

6. Have a Game Plan Before ICE Knocks

When enforcement agents arrive, it is too late to start planning. You need a playbook in advance and everyone needs to know their role.

The plan should include:

• Legal counsel on speed dial: Preferably someone with immigration and employment law experience.
• A written response protocol: Who speaks to agents? Who gathers documents? Who communicates with employees?
• Know your rights: ICE needs a judicial warrant to enter non-public areas or access records. Train your team to ask for it—politely but firmly.
• Educate your employees. Disseminate the plan and everyone’s obligations in advance to ensure each of your employees knows their rights, their obligations, and the limits of each.

Bonus tip: Run a drill. Just like a fire drill, a mock enforcement scenario can reveal gaps in your plan and help your team respond with confidence.

Final Word: Build Your Foundation Now

Preparation is utterly key to avoid serious complications. Your business can face serious penalties for lack of compliance with immigration documentation. Preparing in advance can help you weather potential ICE raids. These steps are critical to help your company maintain an engaged and effective workforce through what is a very unpredictable period in the construction industry. If you have questions about any DMV construction issues, please feel free to reach out Timothy Hughes at Bean, Kinney & Korman, P.C. at (703) 526-5582, thughes@beankinney.com. Please reach of your Doug Taylor on employment and immigration issues, (703) 526-5586, rdtaylor@beankinney.com. Our firm practices in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in addition to various other jurisdictions.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not contain or convey legal advice. Consult a lawyer. Any views or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily the views of any client.