With over 43% of the national economy fueled by small business, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pepe’s owner Nubia Hernandez finds federal policy that would inhibit economic growth as hypocritical.

The Santa Rosa restaurateur shared her thoughts, following a seminar last week hosted by Smith Dollar employment law specialists to help companies understand their rights, should U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers appear at their workplace. The seminar, held at the North Coast Builders Exchange, drew 20 human resources managers.

“There’s a lot of fear and paranoia. A lot of businesses want to ask questions. This is why I came to this,” Hernandez said.

She told attendees that, in addition to concerns from a handful of employees, her customers have expressed apprehension.

“Everybody’s scared to go out. I tell them: ‘You have to continue to live your life,’” she said.

According to Washington D.C.’s Pew Research Center data gathered in 2022, the hospitality industry in the U.S. constitutes 7.1% of undocumented workers, agriculture comes in second with 12.7% and the construction trade employs a 13.7%.

Smith Dollar Attorney Diane Aqui, the seminar’s facilitator, offered a litany of legal procedures ICE agents would either need to follow or the employer would be expected to know.

Aqui was joined on the panel by Hernandez and Monica Julian, executive director of VIDAS (Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy & Services), a nonprofit law firm headquartered...

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