The federal government intends to increase the number of immigration enforcement actions at job sites in Tennessee next year, according to high-ranking enforcement official, Robert Hammer. Immigration investigations in workplaces are likely to focus on critical infrastructures, such as food distribution, defense contractors, airports, and other companies that impact on the community’s general welfare and safety.
Hammer is the assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), which is a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is responsible for overseeing the agency’s Tennessee operations and made the comments during a recent interview with The Commercial Appeal. Hammer said that the decision to increase the focus on Tennessee workplaces results from orders by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting director, Thomas D Homan.
The agency has to make some things priorities, Hammer says, which explains the renewed focus on critical infrastructure. Hammer notes that tips from the general public can also result in some job site actions, adding that such tips can come from former, or even current, employees at certain businesses.
An increase in immigration enforcement actions at workplaces is a big departure from the style of previous presidential administrations, which largely stopped such actions decades ago as a result of a backlash from businesses. Critics argue that stricter enforcement cuts industries off from necessary labor and hurts ordinary people. Advocates claim it allows authorized immigrants and US citizens to get higher wages for doing the same jobs.