Business group advises companies to prepare for immigration enforcement

Some businesses in Massachusetts are bracing for the impact of federal immigration enforcement, and one of the state's largest business advocacy groups advised members to prepare ahead of any actual enforcement.

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts recommended that members post "Know Your Rights" posters in break rooms; review workplace policies around compliance with labor laws; and establish a response plan in case of possible federal raids.

“We are anticipating that increased enforcement in this space could disrupt industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor,” AIM Chief Executive Brooke Thompson said. “What we're trying to do is help businesses protect their workforce, ensure they're in compliance and navigate through some of this uncertainty.”

The group also urged employers to provide workers with access to financial, legal or personal counseling.

Immigrants account for more than one in five workers across the state, according to the nonprofit American Immigration Council. Mark Williams, a finance professor at Boston University who has been studying the impact of immigrants in the workforce, said people without legal status account for as many as 355,000 Massachusetts residents.

If they “are deported from Massachusetts in particular, then that's going to create a large supply shortage” of workers, Williams said.

Construction, transportation, hospitality, healthcare and landscaping services are all vulnerable to workforce disruption, according to Williams.

“For Massachusetts, we have to be very concerned,” he said. “ If we can't have a stable labor force to meet the needs, then our economy will slow down in Massachusetts.”

Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his members so far are more concerned about the economy than immigration enforcement.

"We’ve surveyed our members, they’re very concerned about the state of the consumer," Hurt said, citing the high costs of energy, health care and other necessities in Massachusetts.

"Consumers are tapped out," Hurst said. "And if they’re tapped out, it means they have less to spend on Main Street."