In response to growing concerns about immigration enforcement across Los Angeles, the Independent Hospitality Coalition is partnering with the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce to host a business readiness workshop aimed at educating businesses on how to protect their staff and customers during potential ICE raids.
The free workshop, scheduled for Monday, June 30, in Boyle Heights, will provide vital information on business owners’ legal rights and practical strategies for responding to immigration enforcement in the workplace. The event will be open to a wide range of business operators, including brick-and-mortar establishments, food trucks and street vendors. Spanish interpretation will be available.
Corissa Hernandez, the vice president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the toll immigration enforcement has had on the local economy and criticized the covert methods agents have been seen using to detain people.
“Worksite raids have been running rampant throughout the city of Los Angeles” Hernandez said. “Now more than ever, business owners and our teams need to be prepared in an effort to keep our spaces safe and protect our communities.”
Local immigration enforcement activity has taken a toll on local businesses. Some have reported a slowdown in sales and others have been forced to pivot to delivery or lock their doors to ensure immigration agents don’t have access to their places of work.
The June 30 event follows a similar workshop hosted by the Independent Hospitality Coalition in Highland Park earlier this month. Attendees are expected to learn about the differences between the kind of warrants ICE agents may present, where to post signs to indicate off-limit areas and what tools employees can use to notify customers if agents arrive at their place of work.
The effort is being supported by the office of Council District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, along with advocacy groups and legal organizations, including MiJente Support Committee, Organized Power in Numbers and Z. A. Lawyers.
According to Hernandez, the workshop is open to business owners, managers and employees, and anyone “looking to empower themselves with the education to understand fully what their rights are in the event of an ICE raid.”
To sign up for the workshop, community members can call (323) 526-9332 or RSVP through the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce’s RSVP form. The workshop’s location will be provided upon registration.
