Eric Welsh recently discussed the widespread concerns facing businesses employing foreign nationals in an article by The New York Times entitled “Trump Targets Workplaces as Immigration Crackdown Widens.” Recent raids of work-sites are some of the latest strategies employed by the Trump administration in its ongoing efforts to crack down on immigration. This has become increasingly more difficult for employers to balance, especially those who oversee undocumented employees, as the raids are widespread and unpredictable.
The rise in work-site investigations could drive anxious employers to preemptively terminate undocumented employees, even when their business is unthreatened. “If you’ve done your due diligence as an employer, your own doubt or suspicion isn’t going to be enough for me to say, ‘Yeah, fire that person,’” explains Eric Welsh.
He continues to stress that such unwarranted termination could raise race and national origin discrimination claims for employers, telling The New York Times “You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
