Helping businesses protect their workers from ICE

Early in the morning on November 19, 2025, dozens of masked federal agents—many of them heavily armed—descended on a seafood market in Newark, New Jersey. As bewildered bystanders looked on, agents zip-tied at least 13 workers, loaded them into vans, and drove away. The chaotic scene sent shockwaves through the community, leaving family members and local business owners wondering if they’d be next. 

This wasn't the first workplace raid in New Jersey under the current administration, and it wouldn't be the last. That’s why AFSC’s New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program has been working to reach businesses before ICE does.  

As the Trump administration rapidly expanded immigration enforcement, workplace raids became an increasingly common tactic. During the first seven months of the administration, ICE publicly reported 40 worksite enforcement actions resulting in more than 1,100 arrests. The true number, however, is likely higher. Advocates and local news outlets documented dozens of additional raids targeting small businesses that employed large numbers of immigrant workers. 

These raids are horribly destructive. They break up and impoverish families, deter people from seeking employment or accessing essential services, and destabilize local economies.  

While AFSC's Immigrant Rights Program provides legal support to people affected by immigration enforcement and advocates for policies that strengthen immigrant protections, we also recognize that prevention is essential.  

Since earlier this year, AFSC has been visiting businesses throughout Newark, Red Bank, and surrounding communities, from restaurants and nail salons to small manufacturers. We provide Know Your Rights trainings directly to owners, managers, and employees—usually on the spot. 

“Community members are afraid to leave their homes because of ICE,” says Community Organizer Glendy Tsitouras, who leads the project. “The one place they do still go is to work, because they have to. It’s work, home, work, home. So, we figured we’d be able to reach more people by meeting them at work, as opposed to inviting them to meetings or workshops.” 

During these trainings, Glendy starts with issues specific to the workplace: what rights workers have during encounters with ICE, the difference between judicial and administrative warrants (only the first one legally requires you to let ICE onto private property), and how employers should respond if federal agents arrive.  

Once Glendy opens the floor for questions, however, the conversation often expands to a much broader range of immigration-related issues, from family immigration to detention. The goal is simple: to ensure that workers and employers have accurate information so they can make informed decisions—whether at work or anywhere else. 

"There is so much confusion right now,” she says. “People are desperate to understand what’s really happening, but they’re bombarded with misinformation. I spend a lot of time clarifying incorrect or misleading stuff they’ve seen on social media. Understanding the current situation doesn’t make the current situation good, but not understanding it makes it that much worse. People are more likely to put themselves in harm’s way or fall victim to increasingly common scams targeting immigrants.” 

Although ICE's mass deportation campaign continues to inflict enormous harm, there is growing evidence that community education is making some enforcement tactics less effective. In a recent CNN article, experts noted that ICE has increasingly relied on traffic stops as business raids and traditional home enforcement have become more difficult. Such stops have led to the deaths of community members including Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero.  

Expanding networks of community organizers educating immigrants and employers about their constitutional rights have made it harder for agents to conduct arrests inside businesses and homes using administrative warrants, since more people now understand they’re not legally required to open their doors unless agents present a judicial warrant signed by a judge. 

For Glendy, the trainings are only the beginning. The workers she meets are invited to join a growing network that serves as a rapid-response communication hub where community members can ask immigration-related questions, share information, and stay connected to trusted resources. Each new business strengthens a broader network of mutual support that helps immigrant communities stay informed long after a single training has ended. 

"We've met with hundreds of people in Newark, but I think the impact has been much wider,” Glendy says. “Word gets around fast in immigrant communities. The people I speak to go home and speak to their family and friends, and it keeps going. If we can expand this initiative to other parts of the state, I think we could really transform the information landscape.”