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Latin Times
Latin Times
Politics
Mateo Moreno

ICE Audits at Food Plants Jumped 800% This Year: What It Means for Chicago's 68,000 Food Workers

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 06: Federal agents stand guard as they are confronted by residents after making a stop while driving in a caravan through the Brighton Park neighborhood on November 06, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. Federal agents participating in Operation Midway Blitz, engage in daily patrols through Chicago neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs searching for undocumented immigrants. (Credit: Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

An inspector's letter, not a raid, is now the more common knock

For most Midwest food plants, immigration enforcement in 2026 doesn't look like agents storming a loading dock. It looks like a certified letter. Notices of Inspection, the paperwork trigger for a Form I-9 audit, climbed by roughly 800% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the first quarter of 2025, with food processing, agriculture, hospitality, construction and warehousing absorbing the brunt of the increase.

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