Employers And Immigrants May Fear Immigration Service’s New Powers

Valid concerns:

Employers and immigrants may soon fear the expanded law enforcement authorities claimed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The new rule and the announcement that USCIS officers can carry firearms are the most recent steps to transform the agency into a different entity, away from one founded to adjudicate benefit applications and provide services to the public. In a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing, new USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said, “USCIS must be an immigration enforcement agency.”

Rule Grants Immigration Service New Law Enforcement Authorities

On September 5, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security amended its regulations to “codify certain law enforcement authorities delegated” by the DHS secretary to the USCIS director and “subsequently redelegated to particular officers or employees of USCIS.” According to the rule, “These authorities allow particular USCIS personnel to investigate and enforce civil and criminal violations of the immigration laws within the jurisdiction of USCIS. These authorities include, but are not limited to, the issuance and execution of warrants, the arrest of individuals, and carrying of firearms.”

Immigration attorneys are alarmed at USCIS giving itself these new authorities under the DHS rule. “The recent changes at USCIS make the immigration process more intimidating,” said Dan Berger of Green & Spiegel in an interview. “Employers offer green card sponsorship as a recruitment and retention tool for key talent. That sponsorship increasingly involves an in-person interview, with the possibility of interacting with armed USCIS agents. This comes after months of images of masked ICE agents on television.”

Chris Thomas of Holland & Hart said USCIS officers will now have the authority to execute warrants, make arrests and investigate civil and criminal violations of immigration law. He said in an interview that by operating more like Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement it opens “a new universe of potential exposure for employers and their lawyers.”

A Department of Justice memo issued to all employees on February 5, 2025, directed federal prosecutors to prioritize and accept all immigration-related referrals or explain in “Urgent Reports” to headquarters why the cases were not pursued. Companies could face criminal charges in cases that the DOJ may not have pursued in the past.

“Will the goal be to bring wild cases against companies and employers to chill benefits-related immigration, or will only the obvious and egregious cases be pursued? Only time will tell,” said Thomas.

Thomas expects an increase in employee arrests, an expansion of onsite visits by USCIS Fraud Detection & National Security officers, including at the home office of employees working remotely, and an expansion of criminal liability and reputational exposure for employers. He recommends that employers review their policies, inform staff and prepare for site visits. He said one area USCIS could focus on is work performed at customer sites by individuals in H-1B status. In Donald Trump’s first term, USCIS officials issued memos and took unsuccessful regulatory action against such work.

Source: Employers And Immigrants May Fear Immigration Service’s New Powers