Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/366055
I ce is a chilly substance, and the government agency called ICE—Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment—is aptly named. It sends chills down the spines of fruit growers and packers who hire seasonal labor to pick and pack fruit, and of workers who may be in the United States illegally. It is estimated that 60 percent of seasonal workers are in the country illegally and should not be working in orchards, vineyards, and packing houses. Almost all of them are from Central America. While "ICE raids" have been far from a daily occurrence in the fruit industry, the few that have occurred have put the fear of ICE into many employers. Remember, too, that agriculture hires just under 2 million workers, and the total population of immigrants in the United States illegally is estimated at 12 million. ICE has more than agriculture on its agenda, although many believe agriculture is "targeted." What is ICE? ICE is the largest investigative agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations are vast. In a fact sheet called "a day in the life of ICE Enforce- ment and Removal Operations," the agency says that, among other things, on an average day in 2012, it man- aged six processing centers, housed an average of 34,260 illegal aliens in more than 240 detention facilities, and managed more than 1.71 million aliens in the various stages of immigration removal proceedings. The agency says it has prioritized its limited resources on identifying and removing criminal aliens and those caught at the border attempting to unlawfully enter the United States."Removals"—deportations—can be peo- ple turned back after being apprehended within 100 miles of a border (having entered in the previous two weeks) without any further judicial proceedings. Or, "removals" can be people arrested in the interior of the United States and returned after legal proceedings. In 2013, ICE deported almost 370,000 people. Of those, just over a third were apprehended in the interior of the country.Of the 150,000 removals of individuals without a criminal conviction, 84 percent were apprehended at the border. Questions for ICE Good Fruit Grower submitted several questions to the media office of ICE and received the following answers from Danielle Bennett, an agency spokesperson. These responses were edited for clarity. Q Is there some way growers or packers might predict a visit from ICE? A ICE is committed to protecting employment opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce. In April 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment adopted a three-pronged approach to its worksite enforcement strategy, using enforcement (criminal arrests of employers); compliance (Form I-9 Employment Eligi- bility Verification inspections, civil fines, and suspension and debarment); and outreach (the ICE Mutual Agree- ment between Government and Employers program). ICE uses Form I-9 inspections to ensure that employ- ers are complying with the employment eligibility verifi- cation requirements. It begins the inspection process by serving a Notice of Inspection upon an employer com- pelling the production of Forms I-9. Employers are given at least three business days to produce them. Q What triggers an ICE decision to come to a farm or packing house looking for illegal workers? A ICE does not discuss law enforcement tactics. Q What happens to workers who are found to be working in the United States illegally? A Each individual immigration case is handled on a case-by-case basis. Under the deferred action process, and prosecutorial discretion as a whole, ICE is screening every alien we encounter, including those in custody. Decisions are based on the merits of each case, the factual information provided to the agency, and the totality of the circumstances. ICE's fiscal year 2013 removal numbers make clear the agency's enforcement prioritization efforts are pay- ing dividends. Nearly 60 percent of individuals removed by ICE in 2013 had previously been convicted of a crim- inal offense; 82 percent of individuals removed from the interior of the country had previously been convicted of a criminal offense. 30 SEPTEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Chilled by ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity is relentless. by Richard Lehnert (continued on page 32)