ICE at work: Employee protection hinges on legal benefits

• Key Insight: Learn how employers can become frontline legal safety nets for immigrant staff.
• What's at Stake: Workforce stability, productivity and compliance risks escalate amid intensified immigration enforcement.
• Supporting Data: 41% of immigrants fear detention or deportation, up from 26% in 2023 (KFF).
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Growing up in Denver as a Mexican immigrant where she was surrounded by a rich Latinx immigrant community, Maria Monclova saw firsthand how family, friends and neighbors struggled to find adequate legal advice and even representation, whether due to their background, language barriers or residential status.

"I would tell myself that one day I was going to make a difference," Monclova says. "One day, I was going to be an attorney so that I could be the trusted representative of my community — a place where they could go and get the fair representation they needed and deserved."

She made good on her promise to herself, and once accepted to law school, Monclova dedicated her studies to immigration law. Today, she is the founder and lead attorney at Monclova Law, a Denver-based firm dedicated to representing and defending the Latinx and immigrant community, with most of her first cases being the same family and friends that inspire her.  

Read more: ICE at work: For fearful employees, anonymity and resource access are key to safety

Although she has always been passionate about defending and representing her immigrant clients, increased raids and detentions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have pushed her to develop a second passion — bringing legal benefits and solutions to workplaces.  

"Employees aren't feeling protected by their employer and it comes from a lack of understanding of the law or a lack of knowledge and understanding," she says. "For example, not knowing when to share certain information with their leaders or not knowing what [information] ICE officers do and don't have access to from their [workplace]." 

Forty-one percent of immigrants say they personally worry they or a family member could be detained or deported by ICE, according to 2026 data from national non-profit KFF, a significant uptick from 26% in 2023. More than half of immigrants — including naturalized citizens and documented immigrants — are not confident they or a family member would receive fair treatment by the legal system if detained on immigration-related charges. As a result, KFF reported that three in ten immigrants avoid traveling, seeking medical care, or even going to work. 

Read more: ICE at work: Increased mental health benefits are critical amidst raids

"Some employers feel that what's going on with ICE is really outside of their scope or responsibility, but it's not," Monclova says. "A safe work environment creates personal and professional stability for their employees, and in return that creates better economic outcomes for them." 

Making legal benefits and resources as effective as possible

The first step to creating a successful legal resource is for employers to understand their own rights, according to Monclova, and to educate themselves on the kind of protections they already have at their disposal. They can then use that knowledge to either source and invest in legal benefits if they haven't already, Monclova says. However, most large organizations already have some kind legal resource in place, and may just need more comprehensive offerings like attorney-created educational materials as well as referrals to legal, mental health and crisis support services. 

Employers can also partner with community organizations and local legal practices to share guidance on issues like custody planning, powers of attorney and financial preparedness. For example, Monclova and her team work closely with local business owners through community outreach, hosting "Know Your Rights" presentations and sharing resources that explain the limits of ICE authority — such as when agents can enter a workplace, question employees or request documents.  In many cases, the legal information employees are seeking isn't even for them, Monclova shares, but to arm their children with information should they as parents be detained. 

Read more: What employers need to know about ICE raids

"These are all resources and connections that employers can start forming right now in the community," Monclova says. "And if they provide all these resources and employees feel that they have a safe work environment, then they won't stop working. They can come to their workplace without fear or anxiety." 

Legal representation is more than a voluntary benefit to be used by a single individual, it can be the difference between an employee keeping their livelihood and being granted the protections that they're owed. 

"The impact of the immigration enforcement action we're seeing is far beyond just one person or case," Monclova says. "It's a ripple effect that affects entire communities, families and businesses. It's why it's so important for employers to understand their rights, to understand the consequences and to provide resources where and when they can."