Following Donald Trump's election victory in November, employers are beginning to prepare for a significant increase in workplace inspections and immigration raids, as signaled by senior Trump officials, according to a Bloombergreport.

While much of the new administration’s policy agenda for the immigrant workforce is still unknown, it is widely expected to include a return to surprise raids on businesses suspected of employing unauthorized immigrant workers, as promised by former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director and Trump’s pick for “border czar,” Tom Homan, a potential appointee to Trump’s new team.

“This enforcement could come quickly, without warning, and really without much warning,” said Scott Bettridge, chair of Cozen O’Connor PC’s immigration practice. Audits surged under the first Trump administration, reaching 5,981 in fiscal 2018 — a fourfold increase from the previous year. Audits rose to 6,450 in fiscal 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed enforcement. Employers should “get their I-9 house in order” now with their own internal audits, said John Mazzeo, senior director and associate general counsel at Vertical Screen Inc., which assists employers in screening applicants.

Form I-9 is a mandatory document in the U.S. that is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of all individuals hired for employment. The I-9 must be completed by all employees and employers, including citizens and noncitizens. To do so, the employee must present to the employer acceptable documents as evidence of identity and employment authorization, and the employer has the responsibility to review those documents to determine whether they appear genuine and relate to the employee and then record the information from the document on the employee’s Form I-9. Employers will likely see increased I-9 audits, which could be a concern for many companies.

Companies with high concentrations of immigrant labor, such as the manufacturing, construction and hospitality sectors, are expected to be prime targets for these audits. Penalties for non-compliance can be severe, ranging from $281 to $2,789 per documentation violation and up to $27,894 per unauthorized employee who was knowingly employed, according to Bloomberg.

With the new administration promising a tougher approach to immigration, companies and workers should prepare for a more restrictive environment and seek legal guidance to ensure compliance with the new policies ahead.