A Michigan couple was arrested recently and charged with employing and housing hundreds of undocumented immigrants for their profitable plumbing business.
The case, which entered the public eye after a five-year investigation, drew national headlines and was described in detail on the Internal Revenue Service’s website. One reason the story caught national attention: It’s a rare instance of an employer being held accountable for allegedly hiring undocumented workers.
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has launched a mass deportation campaign, surging federal resources across the country in operations that have overwhelmingly targeted immigrants believed to be in the country illegally – not their employers.
The Trump administration’s enforcement has increasingly targeted small business, from car washes to family farms and restaurants. But in the vast majority of instances, employers have managed to escape any criminal liability, at least for now.
Experts said accountability for employers for hiring unauthorized workers has vexed officials for decades, including both Democratic and Republican administrations.
