(Radio Iowa) – Immigration experts anticipate more federal immigration officers will show up on American farms in the coming months, and legal experts say there are steps employers can take ahead of time. Kristiana Coutu is senior counsel for the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University. Coutu recommends farmers work with an attorney to develop a plan for potential immigration actions, including designating a point person to engage with federal officers.

“…to understand why they’re there, know that they can ask for identification and their reason for being there,” she says. Coutu says it’s also helpful to understand the difference between a judicial warrant and an administrative warrant. “That administrative warrant is not going to allow that broader search of the non-public areas,” she says, unless someone gives consent. An agricultural employer can work with an attorney to figure out what areas on a farm are non-public and clearly mark them with signs.

Coutu says the point person should know what’s allowed under those different types of warrants. “And then be able to understand how to then communicate that to either the owner or the attorney, or whoever else,” she says. “I think it’s just really good practice for all employers.”

Employers cannot impede an investigation or tell employees what they can or can’t say, but Coutu says they can document the officers’ activities and ask where employees are being detained to share with their emergency contacts.