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.