Know Your Rights: Protecting Your Premises
A cornerstone of business readiness is understanding the law. Jonathan Grode, U.S. Practice Director for Green and Spiegel, outlined critical “Know Your Rights” strategies for business owners confronting ICE.
- Public vs. Private Space: ICE agents can enter public spaces freely, but they cannot enter private spaces without a valid warrant. Business owners should clearly designate areas as public or private to add a layer of protection. For instance, a sign reading “Please seat yourself” makes a dining room a public space, whereas “See hostess for seating” designates it as an invitee space. Walk-up windows touching public sidewalks are generally deemed public space .
- Know Your Warrants: Agents often use administrative warrants (issued by the Department of Homeland Security) and try to pass them off as permission to enter private property. In reality, only a judicial warrant signed by a judge, and explicitly specifying the space and duration of the search, gives agents that authority. If you invite ICE in without a valid judicial warrant, they can do whatever they want.
- Record the Interaction: You are legally allowed to record ICE activities, which is one of the most powerful mechanisms for holding agents accountable and ensuring they do not overstep their authority. To avoid being accused of obstructing justice, verbally and visually demonstrate compliance, such as filming yourself taking a step back when asked to do so.
- Establish an Escalation Protocol: Treat an ICE visit like a health inspection. Have a clear plan in place for how staff should escalate the situation to management or ownership. Advise staff not to run, as this gives agents probable cause to investigate everyone on the premises.
What World Cup Host Cities Are Doing: Local Organizing and Rapid Response
Across the nation, host cities are rolling out specialized initiatives to build resilience and offer immediate support during the games. Partners shared insights from their cities:
- Philadelphia: The city passed legislation giving city property the same private rights as businesses to prevent ICE from using public land as staging grounds. Local chambers are also distributing toolkits and organizing “rapid response” networks of attorneys who can deploy to watch parties and business districts if raids occur.
- Boston: Organizers are building cross-sector support networks and translating “Know Your Rights” training materials into languages like Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Portuguese to support immigrant-owned businesses and their workers.
- Seattle: The Seattle Metro Chamber has released an evergreen “Small Business Mega Event Playbook,” including a 12-page graphic novel-style resource, to simplify business readiness, alongside a centralized readiness portal for local businesses to access coaching and grants. The city has also implemented an emergency ban against ICE detention centers.
- Florida: Florida For Good is creating resource toolkits complete with template letters, social media campaigns, and media pitches to help businesses confidently communicate their support for human rights to their vendors and supply chains.
Join the Movement
The Democracy Rising Collaborative is actively mobilizing lawyers to provide rapid response capabilities and localized training in host cities across the country. However, the success of The Welcome Standard ultimately relies on the participation of business owners willing to protect their communities.
By educating your staff, knowing your legal rights, and signing up for The Welcome Standard, you ensure that your business remains a safe, inclusive, and prosperous environment during the 2026 World Cup and beyond.
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About American Sustainable Business Network
American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) amplifies the collective voice of sustainable business to lead the way to a regenerative economy that is stakeholder-driven, just, and prosperous. As a multi-issue, membership organization advocating on behalf of every business sector, size, and geography, ASBN works to advance its mission to inform, connect, and mobilize sustainable business leaders, transforming the public and private sectors toward a just and regenerative economy.