As the Trump administration ramps up workplace immigration raids, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce is urging businesses to be prepared.
During a webinar last week organized by the Chamber, attorney Katie Minervino, with the law firm Pierce Atwood, encouraged employers to have a plan for handling potential enforcement actions.
"We don't want to be in panic mode around all of this, but, you know, we want to kind of be prepared," she said. "Because the government is saying, 'We are setting quotas, we are looking to detain and arrest individuals.'"
Minervino said employers should have their employment documentation in order, and train employees on who to call if government agents come knocking.
"Who do they call? Who's trained to help coordinate it?" she said. "Do you want to have an attorney on retainer? Or who would you call if you think that you need some extra help?"
Minervino said it's important to react calmly if federal agents do show up, and to ask for documentation to clarify what issues they are looking into and what kind of access they are seeking.
