‹ Back to Columns

Another ICE Crackdown

Often, it’s the pot on the back burner that starts a fire.

So when you’ve put an issue back there to simmer, like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents promising to increase raids on manufacturers harboring illegal immigrants, it’s good to check in on it every once in a while.

Power and electrical technology manufacturer Howard Industries Inc., Laurel, Miss., probably wishes it had kept a closer eye on the issue, which started a proverbial fire Aug. 25, according to a New York Times article. In the first raid of its scale since May, ICE agents entered Howard Industries and detained “at least 350 workers they said were in the country illegally.”

Every so often in MODERN CASTING, we discuss legislation and executive orders that may affect the way you verify the status of your employees. In the August issue, we announced for your edification that the Bush Administration ordered all companies doing business with the federal government to verify their employees legal working status by checking their social security numbers through an online service known as E-Verify.

However, this should not obscure the fact that your staff is your responsibility, whether you have zero government contracts or a zillion. If you let the pot on the back burner boil over—like Howard Industries did—your facility floor could be flooded with ICE agents.