If you run a business that employs immigrant workers, the past year has felt like a moving target. In June 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paused worksite raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants, then reversed that decision within days. Enforcement has only expanded since: ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) issued roughly 10 times more Notices of Inspection in the first half of 2025 than in all of 2024, and civil penalties now exceed $27,000 per violation. 

The latest DHS immigration raids reveal an enforcement landscape where no industry is automatically exempt and documentation matters more than ever. This guide explains what changed, who is being prioritized, and how to prepare your business.

What DHS immigration raids are, and why they matter now

A DHS immigration raid is a worksite or community enforcement action carried out by federal agencies to identify, arrest, and remove people without lawful status. If you employ immigrant workers, one of these actions can reach your business with little warning. They range from document audits to large-scale arrests at a single facility.

Two things make this moment different from prior years. First, the funding behind the immigration crackdown has grown sharply: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, allocated more than $170 billion for immigration and border enforcement, including money to hire 10,000 new ICE officers.

Second, the policy focus has moved toward employers, not just workers, using civil fines and criminal referrals to deter noncompliance. Taken together, these enforcement actions reveal a system built for scale, not a short-term campaign.

The 2025 pause and reversal, explained

If you want to understand the current climate, start with the DHS immigration raids pause reversal that played out over a single week in June 2025. The sequence was unusually public.

The timeline ran like this:

  • June 11 to 12, 2025: Agriculture officials reportedly raised farmer concerns with the president, and a senior ICE official emailed regional offices to hold worksite operations in agriculture and hospitality.
  • June 12, 2025: President Trump posted on social media that “changes are coming” for enforcement in farming and hospitality.
  • June 16, 2025: The agency reversed the directive on a call with about 30 ICE field offices, telling them to continue worksite operations.

That worksite enforcement reversal told employers that earlier assurances had evaporated. An agency spokesperson said worksite enforcement remains “a cornerstone” of its work.

The DHS raids reversal explained one reality: industry pressure can shift messaging, but it does not guarantee a lasting exemption. Reporting indicated adviser Stephen Miller pushed for higher arrest numbers, and border czar Tom Homan publicly backed uniform enforcement, keeping the mass deportation agenda on track. ICE worksite raids resume across the sectors the pause had briefly shielded.

How ICE and CBP carry out enforcement operations

You will encounter several agencies under the Homeland Security umbrella, and they play distinct roles in immigration enforcement operations. Knowing who does what helps you respond correctly when federal agents arrive. Their roles break down like this:

  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): ICE leads interior enforcement, including worksite operations, arrests, and detention. Its investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), runs many worksite cases and Form I-9 audits.
  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Customs and Border Protection focuses on the border, but CBP teams have also joined interior operations, including sweeps that courts have scrutinized.
  • Coordination across agencies: ICE arrests, CBP operations, and federal database records increasingly feed one enforcement picture, so an action in one city can draw on data gathered elsewhere.

This coordination shows when DHS raids farms hotels restaurants in a single coordinated wave, rather than the scattered actions of prior years.

The surveillance technology behind modern raids

You cannot understand today's operations without the technology behind them. Recent DHS immigration raids reveal a reliance on data integration that did not exist at this scale a few years ago.

Reporting and congressional oversight have focused on the contractor Palantir, whose software links immigration records, travel histories, license-plate data, and other sources into one operational system that ICE agents use to identify targets.

The American Civil Liberties Union has documented facial recognition in field stops and filed suits alleging suspicionless stops and racial profiling. In February 2026 testimony, the acting ICE director told senators the agency does not maintain such a database, a characterization lawmakers have disputed.

ICE enforcement priorities in 2026

You have probably seen conflicting signals about who federal agents are targeting, which makes ICE enforcement priorities 2026 worth a closer look. ICE reported roughly 379,000 arrests between January 2025 and January 2026, and its detainee population reached a record high near 73,000 by early 2026. The agency has said about 70% of those arrested had criminal charges or convictions, though government data also showed a steep rise in detainees with no criminal record. That gap is why the claim that ICE raids prioritize serious offenders is contested rather than settled.

In late 2025, reporting described a shift toward targeted enforcement: amid negative polling on broad sweeps, teams were said to be refocusing on people convicted of serious crimes and easing off mass actions at sites like home improvement stores. That December, the agency also launched a searchable database highlighting individuals it labels criminal illegal aliens. Still, this policy change has not taken worksite operations off the menu, which points to a dual track for DHS immigration raids in 2026: visible criminal-focused arrests running alongside continued employer audits.

What employers should do now: practical guidance

The most useful immigration raids employer guidance focuses on the documents and protocols you control, not on predicting where agents appear next.

Take these steps before any visit:

  1. Audit your Form I-9 records: Every employee hired after November 6, 1986 needs a complete, accurate I-9. Internal audits catch the technical errors, such as missing signatures or outdated forms, that trigger five-figure penalties. The official Form I-9 page lists current requirements.
  2. Build a written response protocol: Decide in advance who greets agents, reviews paperwork, and contacts counsel. After a Notice of Inspection, you generally have three business days to produce I-9s, payroll records, and employee lists.
  3. Know the warrant difference: A judicial warrant signed by a judge is required for federal agents to enter private, non-public areas. An administrative warrant from ICE does not grant that access.
  4. Train staff calmly: Brief your team on their rights and the protocol in advance, so a visit does not become chaotic.

This compliance pressure now reaches industries it once skipped. I-9 audits have expanded into technology, consulting, healthcare, and engineering, sectors that depend on work-authorized hires, so clean documentation protects lawful employees too.

Whether you are an owner or an employee, you keep constitutional protections during any encounter, and knowing them changes how it unfolds.

A few rights apply broadly:

  • Constitutional protections cover everyone: The Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches applies regardless of immigration status. Legal experts have raised Fourth Amendment concerns about agents entering homes without a judicial warrant.
  • You can ask to see the warrant: You may ask agents to identify the warrant type and show it before you grant access to private areas.
  • You can decline to answer questions: Individuals generally have the right to remain silent and to speak with an attorney before answering questions about their status.

If a U.S. citizen or lawful resident is wrongly detained, legal recourse exists, and wrongful-arrest suits tied to faulty facial recognition results are already moving through the courts.

Keep every case audit-ready with Lighthouse

The latest news on DHS immigration raids points in one direction: enforcement is broader, better funded, and more data-driven than ever, and the brief 2025 pause changed none of that. Your strongest protection is not predicting the next raid but keeping documentation audit-ready today.

If your team relies on work-authorized talent, the time to find a weak file is before an auditor does. Lighthouse helps employers keep every case audit-ready with attorney review on every file, so a Notice of Inspection finds documentation that already holds up. 

Get started with Lighthouse with a free evaluation of where your cases stand.

Frequently asked questions on DHS immigration raids

Why did DHS reverse the pause on raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants? 

The agency reversed the June 2025 pause within days after senior officials pushed for uniform enforcement. It said worksite operations remain central to its mission, and industry-specific exemptions were withdrawn.

Can ICE enter a workplace without a warrant? 

Agents can enter public areas of a business, but they need a judicial warrant signed by a judge to access private, non-public areas. An administrative ICE warrant does not authorize that entry.

Who is ICE prioritizing for arrest in 2026? 

The agency states that most arrests involve people with criminal charges or convictions, and late-2025 reporting described a shift toward serious offenders. Government data also showed a sharp rise in arrests of people with no criminal record, so priorities remain debated.

Does this enforcement affect H-1B and other work-authorized employees? 

Yes, indirectly. I-9 audits now reach technology, healthcare, and consulting employers, so even fully authorized hires need accurate records. The audit reviews documentation, not just status.

What should an employer do first if ICE arrives? 

Stay calm, ask which agency and warrant type the agents present, and have a designated person review the paperwork before allowing access to private areas. Contact your immigration counsel and document the encounter.