MSU Institutional Assessment + RA
MAGELLAN Monitorship
Empire/Liberty Review
Contact Us
Contact Us

Before ICE Knocks: Building an Employer Response Program That Survives Real Enforcement

  • Home
  • Insights
  • Webinars
  • Before ICE Knocks: Building an Employer Response Program That Survives Real Enforcement
John G. Connolly / John Shofi
Event Date 06/09/2026

Many employers still believe they can tighten up their I‑9s or formalize a response plan once enforcement activity begins. That assumption is no longer correct. Recent enforcement guidance and shifts in interpretation have narrowed employers’ ability to cure errors or remediate risk once ICE is on the doorstep.

In today’s enforcement environment, response planning is only as strong as the underlying I‑9 program behind it. Full readiness requires more than legal compliance alone; it demands operational and investigative insight that goes beyond traditional immigration law practice.

This session, led by John Connolly and John Shofi of Guidepost Solutions and Morgan Bailey of Mayer Brown, focused on what readiness means before an ICE visit, including:

  • Assessing I‑9 accuracy and document validity
  • Identifying patterns of identity fraud
  • Determining who may be unauthorized to work
  • Training frontline staff to recognize high-risk issues in real time

These are areas where legal counsel and HR teams benefited from the added dimension that experienced investigators and former enforcement officials bring.

Drawing on direct enforcement and audit experience, the panel dived into:

  • How ICE and HSI evaluate employer preparedness in the first moments of a worksite visit
  • Why small missteps in document review, authority designations, or recordkeeping can lead to fines, expanded audits, or criminal referrals

Whether advising clients or managing workforce documentation internally, attendees gained a practical, immediately applicable framework grounded in how enforcement unfolds, not how plans are written to work on paper.

 

Watch the Webinar

John Connolly in a suit and tie smiling for a professional photograph

John G. Connolly

Senior Managing Director

John G. Connolly provides subject matter expertise to large, international corporations regarding employer compliance with federal immigration laws, including visa compliance and reviews and remediations of I-9 forms and the E-Verify processes. He also works with firms in conducting due diligence investigations as well as providing subject matter expertise in support of litigation. He previously served as the Deputy Executive Associate Director for the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS-ICE). There he had a wide range of management responsibilities, including supervision of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) which included investigations involving money laundering, intellectual property rights and customs and immigration violations.
John Shofi in a suit and tie smiles for the camera

John Shofi

Senior Managing Director

John Shofi has more than 20 years of government experience in key leadership roles with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in-depth experience at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and a widespread knowledge of DHS operations. He provides invaluable insight in matters involving investigative and compliance issues.
MSU Institutional Assessment + RA
MAGELLAN Monitorship
Empire/Liberty Review

Michigan State University Institutional Assessment + Responsive Action

Click Here

Magellan Diagnostics Independent Monitor

Click Here

Empire/Liberty Safety + Compliance Review

Click Here