Immigration agents target 7-Eleven stores
NEW YORK CITY — Federal immigration agents descended on dozens of 7-Eleven convenience stores across the country before daybreak Wednesday, arresting unauthorized workers and demanding paperwork from managers in what the Trump administration described as its largest enforcement operation against employers so far.
The raids of 98 stores in 17 states, from California to Florida, resulted in 21 arrests, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which signalled it intends to ramp up its efforts against companies that hire unauthorized workers.
“Today’s actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable,” Thomas D. Homan, the acting director of ICE, said in a statement.
Homan, the nation’s top immigration-enforcement official, has vowed more scrutiny of businesses that violate federal laws requiring employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their workers.
In a statement, 7-Eleven Inc., which is based in Irving, Texas, said its franchisees were independent business owners who “are solely responsible for their employees, including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States.”
“7-Eleven takes compliance with immigration laws seriously and has terminated the franchise agreements of franchisees convicted of violating these laws,” the company said.
According to ICE, federal agents served inspection notices to franchises in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Washington, D.C.
An ICE investigation in 2013 resulted in the arrests of nine 7-Eleven franchise owners and managers on charges of employing unauthorized workers. Several have pleaded guilty and forfeited their franchises, and were ordered to pay millions in back wages.