The distinction is important because California employers don’t have to allow ICE into private spaces unless they present a valid judicial warrant, she said.
“It’s rare for immigration agents to carry a judicial warrant,” Almor said, pointing out the differences between that document and the administrative orders more commonly carried by immigration officers.
Erick Olivares, who hosted the training at his taqueria, said learning about his legal rights as a business owner made him feel more confident. He planned to meet with employees at his two restaurants in the Fruitvale and Richmond, as well as fellow merchants, to ensure they know their rights.
“With all this information, I got more ideas about the things that I can do. First of all, for me is to prepare my business,” said Olivares, 44.
The naturalized U.S. citizen, who first arrived in the Fruitvale as an undocumented teen, said his life experience motivates him to protect his community from any immigration-related abuses. Olivares said he doesn’t want to interfere with ICE’s work but will stand up for his mostly Latino employees and customers if needed.
“Now that I have the opportunity to protect my people, that’s what I want to do,” he said. “I want to help my community. I want to protect the businesses because these things that the federal government is doing to us; we cannot just let it be. We need to fight back.”
Dorado, who co-leads the Comunidad y Comerciantes de Fruitvale business association with Olivares, said he wants members to become trainers themselves and involve other merchants. The 77-year-old lifelong Fruitvale resident said that, as unsettling as recent immigration sweeps in other regions may be, he sees an opportunity in the Bay Area for employers to unite.
“We can talk to them about the importance of our coming together, and it’s not just the education,” said Dorado, a former police commissioner. “It’s also the multiplying force of our coming together as merchants and Latino merchants, especially here in the Fruitvale.”