The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025, will fund government efforts to continue to vigorously enforce the immigration laws. Companies in the manufacturing, health care, hospitality, construction, and agriculture sectors should take notice of the significant new spending allocated to immigration enforcement and should take specific steps now to evaluate and address their increased legal exposure.
Immigration-Related Spending Allocations
The legislation's spending allocations are directly in line with the Trump Administration's priority on immigration enforcement. In a May 19, 2025 press release, the House Judiciary Committee estimated that the bill would fund "at least 1 million annual removals, 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, and detention capacity sufficient to maintain an average daily population of 100,000 aliens." Specifically, the bill allocates $170 billion to immigration enforcement, which includes over $75 billion allocated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and more than $46 billion to Customs and Border Protection (CPB), which has assisted with arrests of unauthorized workers.
Impact on Large Companies
These increased immigration-related spending allocations will likely have a direct impact on certain companies and their legal liability. Just last month, Border Czar Tom Homan stated that "[w]orksite enforcement operations are going to massively expand." The bill's spending allocations put real money behind his promise. In a CBS interview following the bill's signing into law, Homan said he was "happy with the numbers," and described the bill as a "game changer" given funding that facilitates ICE's ability to increase enforcement.
Companies should expect more frequent and aggressive notice of inspections and audits of Form I-9s due to increased staffing and audit infrastructure. As a result of these audits, companies can be investigated and criminally prosecuted for use of fraudulent paperwork, knowingly employing unauthorized employees and other federal crimes, in addition to the imposition of potential civil penalties. Additionally, a company can be barred from federal contracts if they are found to have knowingly employed unauthorized workers. Employers also cannot shield themselves from liability by working through third-party or temp agencies.
While E-Verify is required for certain companies, including all federal contractors, some lawmakers have pressed for expanded use requirements of the electronic employment eligibility verification system. The E-Verify system has certain vulnerabilities, so employers who use E-Verify could see increased delays in hiring, false positives, or wrongful terminations based on errors or system mismatches. It is not a guarantee of "no prosecution" even though the E-Verify system is a government-hosted system.
Finally, if the Department of Justice executes a criminal search warrant at a company's location, it can then become very difficult to find qualified, authorized replacement employees to operate the business. Aside from direct enforcement, employers who (whether knowingly or not) hired many unauthorized workers may be forced to enact mass layoffs, resulting in major slowdowns in production. Employers may also expect a reduction in the supply of workers, particularly in key industries such as agriculture and construction, which may require employers to develop additional hiring incentives and pay higher wages.
Addressing the Risks
To address these risks, companies should consider hiring more specialized HR and legal teams to address notoriously complicated immigration and work authorization issues. Policies and procedures regarding a company's Form I-9 processes should be written, and employees involved in the hiring process should be well-trained on such policies and procedures.
Additionally, given the heightened risk of a Notice of Inspection and site visits, employers would be prudent to conduct more frequent internal audits of Form I-9 documentation. Employers should consider adopting or upgrading their electronic Form I-9 system to both be able to better track documentation and timely produce documents in response to a subpoena or Notice of Inspection. Companies should also implement electronic tracking systems to keep track of expiring work authorizations.
Most importantly, companies should implement a clear policy and procedure to respond to immigration enforcement raids similar to the recent raids in Tallahassee, Florida and near Camarillo, California in order to limit the impact of such raids on their workforce and production. Vulnerable companies in the manufacturing, health care, hospitality, construction, and agriculture sectors and located in perceived "sanctuary city" jurisdictions like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Miami should take immediate action.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
