When onboarding new employees, most US employers are aware they must complete Form I-9 for every employee, but far fewer are prepared when the government comes calling. Given President Trump’s immigration directives, which focus heavily on enforcement efforts, the probability surrounding possible increases in site visits and surprise audits by various agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) , maintaining accurate I-9 records is not an option, but a legal obligation with real consequences. Is your business ready?
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The New York Times: “Trump’s Purge of Foreign Workers Arrives at Amazon’s Warehouses”
The US economy is starting to be shaken up by the Trump Administration’s revocation of humanitarian parole programs that gave foreign nationals the ability to work legally in the country. President Trump’s tough stance on immigration and recent government actions have forced many immigrants, who were legally residing in the US and had authorization to work, out of their jobs. As the Trump administration revoked humanitarian parole programs for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (“CHNV”) and Temporary protected status (“TPS”) for nationals of Venezuela and Haiti the numbers of foreign nationals with valid work permits has taken a dive. As a result, Amazon has been faced with a dwindling work force in their warehouses around the country after certain employees who were eligible to work under CHNV or TPS could not obtain new work authorization documents and were consequently dismissed in late June as a result of their loss of work authorization.
Read moreIsn’t There a Better Way?
President Trump Admits Immigration Crackdown is Hurting the US
Trump Administration Offers Money and Travel to Migrants Who Choose to Leave
On May 5, 2025, the US Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced a plan to facilitate President Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The administration announced a “historic opportunity” for undocumented migrants to receive a $1,000 stipend and a free trip home if they agree to leave the US of their own accord. To take part in this program, those who decide to self-deport will use the Trump administration’s “CBP Home” App which was launched to aid in voluntary self-deportations.
Read moreTrump Administration Barred from using Alien Enemies Act to Deport Migrants Without Due Process
In response to a law suit filed by undocumented Venezuelan migrants, a federal judge, appointed by President Trump during his first term, permanently restrained the Trump administration on May 1, 2025, from invoking the Alien Enemies Act (“AEC”), which is an 18th-century wartime law, as the basis to deport Venezuelan nationals the government classified as gang members from the Southern District of Texas, saying “the White House’s use of the statute was not legal.” As noted by Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., "the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms” thereby precluding the administration from using the AEA and Mr. Trump's proclamation to detain, transfer, or remove Venezuelan national migrants who either live in or are detained in the Southern District.
Read morePro-Palestinian University Protestor Released from Federal Custody
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University Philosophy student who was arrested and detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents after attending his naturalization interview in Vermont has been released from federal detention while his immigration case proceeds. He had been under ICE custody since April 14, 2025.
Read morePope Francis’ Legacy of Supporting Migrants
DHS Terminates Humanitarian Parole Program for Cuban, Nicaraguan, Haitian, and Venezuelan Nationals
The US Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced the termination of the humanitarian parole program initiated by the Biden administration in 2023 which allowed approximately 532 thousand migrants escaping political and economic upheaval in Cuban, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuelan to travel and live in the US lawfully under certain conditions. Known as the CHNV Parole Programs (“CHNV”), DHS has terminated the programs as of March 25, 2025, and beneficiaries are set to lose their legal status on April 24, or 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Federal Register.
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