When ICE Shows Up: A Practical 2026 Playbook for Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffee Shops

Summary:

Hospitality runs on people. When immigration enforcement heats up, restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops feel it fast: surprise site visits, I-9 inspection notices, staff anxiety, and managers trying to keep service moving while doing the right thing.

This is not hypothetical. In 2025, ICE agents made widespread visits to restaurants and other businesses in Washington, DC, delivering I-9 inspection notices that triggered immediate disruption even without arrests. And heading into 2026, multiple outlets and HR publications have reported increased employer attention on audits and work authorization paperwork, with hospitality companies frequently in the spotlight.

Here’s the thing: you do not need to panic, but you do need a plan.

Below is a practical, hospitality-friendly preparation guide that helps you protect business continuity, stay compliant, and avoid the common mistakes that create legal risk.

Important note: This article is general information, not legal advice. Immigration enforcement is fast-moving and state rules can add extra requirements. Loop in qualified employment or immigration counsel for your specific situation.

Step 1: Know what “an ICE visit” usually means

Most employer encounters fall into one of these buckets:

1) Notice of Inspection (NOI) for Form I-9

This is the common “paperwork” pathway. Employers generally receive at least three business days to produce requested I-9s after receiving an NOI.

2) Subpoena or request for records

This can expand beyond I-9s into payroll and business records, depending on what is being investigated. Treat it seriously and get counsel involved.

3) Judicial warrant

A warrant signed by a judge is a different level of authority.

4) Administrative immigration warrant

These are not signed by a judge. They often relate to arrest or removal, and do not automatically grant access to nonpublic areas of a workplace. Public areas are generally accessible to anyone, including agents, but nonpublic areas are different.

Step 2: Get your I-9 house in order (this is the foundation)

If your I-9s are messy, everything else gets harder.

Minimum standards to tighten now

• Complete an I-9 for every hire (timely and properly).

• Store I-9s correctly and separately (easy retrieval matters during an NOI).

• Follow retention rules: keep I-9s for 3 years after hire or 1 year after termination, whichever is later.

If you use E-Verify

E-Verify can help, but it does not replace the legal requirement to complete and retain the I-9.

Real talk: If you have not done an internal I-9 audit in the last 12 months, you are behind. Fixing that is one of the highest ROI compliance moves you can make.

Step 3: Build a simple “ICE response plan” for managers (1 page is enough)

Hospitality needs clarity in the moment. Your plan should answer:

Who does what

• Greeter: Who speaks first if an agent arrives during service?

• Decision-maker: Who can grant access to nonpublic areas or release records?

• Document runner: Who pulls I-9s and related files if you receive an NOI?

• Legal contact: Who calls counsel, and what number do they call?

Where things live

• I-9 storage location and backup access

• Corporate vs location-level record ownership

• A list of who has keys to HR files and private offices

What managers say (and do not say)

Keep scripts short so people actually use them.

Step 4: Train managers on the big mistakes that create liability

Two common risks spike during enforcement periods:

1) Overreacting and discriminating

Increased enforcement sometimes leads to bad decisions like:

• Asking only certain employees for documents

• Asking for extra documents beyond what the I-9 requires

• Rejecting valid documents

These actions can trigger anti-discrimination enforcement.

2) Creating chaos that kills operations

If staff panic and leave mid-shift, you can lose an entire day of revenue and damage guest experience. This happened to some restaurants and coffee shops during high-visibility inspection activity. Your plan should focus on calm, consistency, and compliance.

By the way, we can help you create a manager-ready script. Just send us an email and we're on it.

Step 5: Prepare your “NOI response kit” (so 3 business days is enough)

Because an NOI can move quickly, pre-stage:

• A clean roster of current employees and recent terminations

• Centralized I-9 storage map (by location, by brand, by EIN)

• A documented correction protocol for I-9 errors

• A point person who can compile and transmit files securely

Reminder: ICE’s worksite enforcement efforts are often run through Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the I-9 audit process is a core tool.

Step 6: Add hospitality-specific protections

Restaurants and cafes have unique realities. Address these directly:

Multi-location brands

• Standardize manager training across all sites

• Ensure one consistent response plan and one recordkeeping system

High turnover and seasonal hiring

• Tighten onboarding steps so I-9 completion does not slip during busy weeks

• Track rehires correctly

Staffing agencies and contractors

• Clarify who is the legal employer for I-9 purposes for each worker category

• Put compliance expectations into contracts and vendor scorecards

Language access

• Have a bilingual escalation contact or interpreter plan to reduce confusion and fear

Here's the bottom line and the TL/DR version:

ICE activity can disrupt a hospitality business even when it is “just paperwork.” The goal is not to outsmart enforcement. The goal is to be organized, compliant, calm, and consistent so you protect your people and keep the doors open.

We realize this can be a lot to consider, in addition to the normal daily operations of running a hospitality business. Let us take the guess-work off of your plate and create a practical 30-day checklist for you. Just contact us and we can get started.