Officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) usually arrive in Teton County in plain clothes, sometimes with a badge on their belt, and often approach businesses as if they are a customer.
That’s according to immigration attorney Elisabeth Trefonas.
“I get a lot of questions from business owners, ‘how do I know if it’s a customer versus an agent?’”
Trefonas told a crowd of over 150 people packed into the Teton County Fairgrounds community building Thursday morning to learn the latest on immigration policy.
“When they start asking questions about your employees, you’re probably going to figure it out.”
The morning after the breakfast, hosted by the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, ICE was confirmed to be at an apartment complex in Jackson, looking for a reported 17 “targeted individuals.”
This is the first time ICE’s presence in Teton County has been confirmed since the start of President Trump’s second administration.
A reported 25% of Jackson and 13% of Teton County are foreign-born. But those numbers could already be stale.
Judging by the breakfast’s attendance, said Rick Howe, president of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, immigration is a top topic in the business ecosystem.
“With upwards of about 40% of our workforce being so many diverse cultures,” Howe said, “there are people from all over the planet to come here for a season, for a couple seasons, some of whom end up staying here for a lifetime. And that’s what makes us such a great place to be.”
The busy start of President Trump’s second term has coincided with a flurry of bills in process in the Wyoming House, making immigration changes hard to track.
But standing in the community building in front of a projector screen with an example of a valid search warrant, Trefonas said rights, like declining to assist an investigation without obstructing, remain constant.
Members of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce pack the community room the morning of Feb. 6 to hear how immigration policy could impact their business. The next morning, ICE was confirmed active in Teton County. (Sophia Boyd-Fliegel / KHOL)
Right to refuse service
Sandra Guido is a local HR manager. She came with a specific question: could she tell ICE agents to leave her business.
“I learned that, yes, it’s a private business. You can exercise your right to say that they can please leave your business at any time for any reason,” said Guido.
On private property, Trefonas said, a business owner still has the right to refuse service even for people in uniform or employees of the federal government. A valid search warrant needs to be for a specific location, not just a person, and has to be signed by a judge or magistrate.
More often, Trefonas said, ICE agents will have an “administrative warrant.” These are from the Department of Homeland Security, not a court. From a legal perspective, Trefonas said, this is not a “legal warrant.”
“This is as if I walked into your business with a piece of paper and said ‘give me all your money.’ I don’t have any authority to do that.”
Trefonas recommended practicing that interaction and identifying the different papers.
Trefonas made a distinction between getting in the way of law enforcement, which could be considered obstructing justice, and potentially illegal. She recommended recording interactions and staying calm and polite.
“Very little comes from ratcheting it up. Now you’ve become a danger to somebody in uniform,” she said.
Driving is the No. 1 point of contact
The most common point of contact of people without proper documentation and law enforcement is driving, said Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr.
Neither the Teton County Sheriff’s Office nor the Jackson Police Department participates in the program that allows local officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
While local officers will not typically inquire about immigration status unless it is relevant to an investigation, Police Chief Michelle Webber said simply, “don’t drive without a driver’s license.”
That’s because this is one of the only times people are required to speak with law enforcement.
Trefonas recommended business owners make it easy for employees to use the bus and carpool.
She also advised undocumented people to get a power of attorney for how they are getting bond money and who can pick up their kids from school, if they are detained.
Schools seek to “avoid trauma”
While not a business, top of mind for many in the meeting was a January federal order allowing ICE in schools, where officers were previously not allowed and considered a “sensitive place.”
It’s unclear if ICE intends to target schools, but Gillian Chapman, Teton County’s school district superintendent, sought to reassure parents. Information on children remains broadly confidential, she said, and staff have attended training to know how to interact with law enforcement.
The school district’s policy, she said, is to send law enforcement looking for a student or staff to her.
“That way to avoid any sort of trauma for our students,” she said.
Asked by a reporter if schools had plans for children, should their parents be deported and they go home to an empty house, Chapman said they would rely on community resources.
“We’ll work together to ensure that our students, in those really scary situations, have the support and the shelter they need,” she said.
