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.
That single figure understates how much has changed. Looking further back, ICE's audit pace during the first six months of 2025 was already running roughly ten times higher than the full-year total of about 230 inspections logged in 2024 — a different measurement window, but the same trend line.
An audit and a raid are not interchangeable. An audit begins with a Notice of Inspection giving an employer three business days to hand over I-9 records, with no agents entering the building or detaining anyone on the spot. A raid is a physical, usually unannounced, entry. Employers used to get ten business days to fix small clerical slips before facing a fine; ICE erased that grace period in March 2026, reclassifying more than ten routine mistakes as fineable on sight. Current paperwork penalties run from $288 to $2,861 per form.
Why Chicago's food warehouses are squarely in the crosshairs
Roughly 68,000 people work in Chicago-region food and beverage manufacturing, packing and processing goods that ship to grocery shelves nationwide. Much of that workforce holds mixed immigration status and is staffed through temp agencies offering little job security.
The end of a federal program that once shielded whistleblowing workers has left that workforce more exposed. Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement, which let undocumented workers who reported labor violations apply for a four-year work permit, was shut down early in the current administration. Nik Theodore, a University of Illinois Chicago professor who studies the food supply chain, described "the climate of uncertainty that has been created here, I think it's particularly punitive". Separately, more than 500 workers at Nestlé USA's Nation Pizza plant in suburban Schaumburg lost their jobs in April after the company moved to re-verify work authorization for its temporary staff.
Worker centers are now training bosses, not just employees
Against that backdrop, food and logistics companies across the region have started reaching out to worker centers for guidance — a reversal of the usual dynamic. Illinois Workers in Action runs sessions lasting 40 minutes or longer, walking management through the legal difference between an audit, an E-Verify check and a raid rather than handing out a flyer. "There's rights for everyone," organizer Kevin Amaro said, "no matter your immigration status." Illinois law separately gives employers a five-day window to notify staff after federal authorities flag a mismatch in an E-Verify check or I-9 paperwork.
A year after Midway Blitz, the surge officially ended — the presence didn't
Chicago's 68-day immigration surge, Operation Midway Blitz, ran from September 8 to November 14, 2025. A Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ analysis of federal data found 3,841 people detained during that stretch, just 15% of whom had a prior criminal conviction — down from a high of 50% in January 2025 — and 2,732 who were ultimately deported or agreed to self-deport.
The formal operation ended in November, but the enforcement pressure didn't disappear. In late March 2026, ICIRR spokesperson Brandon Lee told the South Side Weekly that "ICE remains in the region and is continuing to abduct neighbors" on a near-daily basis, even as the visible troop surge has faded. That same January, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order, "ICE On Notice," directing city police to document alleged misconduct by federal agents and refer felony violations to the Cook County State's Attorney.
Where to call if ICE shows up
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights' Family Support Network runs a hotline at 855-435-7693, staffed in multiple languages, to report ICE activity or locate a detained family member. Arise Chicago and Warehouse Workers for Justice also offer guidance specifically for food and warehouse employees navigating an audit or a raid.
