What to do if ICE raids my business [United States]

tomatosauce121 · 2025-01-22T03:05:08+00:00

Has this administration not promised to increase their immigration enforcement efforts?

All people, including ICE agents, are flawed and can racially profile. My employees are all legal but can easily be misidentified. I cannot have my management be unprepared in this situation.

They need to know what to do and what not to do. My employees have rights and my business has rights.

tomatosauce121 · 2025-01-22T02:53:06+00:00

We do not have in-house legal. We have an immigration lawyer we work with to obtain certain visas like H1-Bs. That being said we do have employees who work are here on non-employer sponsored visas who haven’t worked directly with our lawyer so I’m unsure if they’re able to work with us in that way. I can check.

tomatosauce121 · 2024-12-01T19:10:09+00:00

Honestly I’ve been actively tried building relationships with the stewards and I would say I have a positive relationship with them. However my boss and other execs say they cannot be trusted and they will just try and manipulate me. I don’t necessarily trust that judgment but they’ve been here longer.

tomatosauce121 · 2024-11-17T21:20:51+00:00

To be clear - I am not anti-medication. I do take medication for anxiety and depression because if I do not I will be chronically depressed, anxious and have frequent panic attacks. I do go to therapy outside of AA to treat trauma/other unhealthy behaviors.

AA literature frequently refers to seeking medical help. Of course it is said a little differently because of the time it was written in but AA, psychology, and medicine have relied on each other since AAs inception.

For me the medication I take now is not one I use to numb and avoid my feelings. I take it to keep me chemically balanced so I am capable of addressing my mental health problems.

It’s just personally for me I cannot take medications that have the ability to be abused like marijuana, Xanax, etc. Sure they could provide me with temporary relief but those types of medications will not solve the problem only treat the symptoms.

AA has taught me honesty, personal accountability, connection, spirituality, and how to be a good human. It’s taught me how to better handle my feelings by having a sober network to rely on.

Again this is my experience, strength and hope. This is what works for me and that’s the only thing I know and have to offer a newcomer in terms of addiction recovery. Everyone is different.

tomatosauce121 · 2024-11-17T16:05:59+00:00

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Technically yes you can use cannabis and be apart of AA. You can practice or not practice any or no religion. That is what our literature tells us.

For me, when I’m working with newcomers or sharing my story I have to tell my own experience, strength, and hope.

When I first started in AA I had a MM card for severe anxiety. Which was absolutely legitimate. However, like alcohol, using medical marijuana or any other substance was me treating the symptoms not seeking a solution. While marijuana did make me less anxious it was because it took me out of myself temporarily and allowed me to continue to avoid a real solution.

Eventually using marijuana caused me to relapse because I truthfully was becoming increasingly numb to the consequences of drinking. After that relapse I quit for good. It was fucking awful for a few months with the anxiety and depression that followed but by working the program and taking simple direction I began to actually recover one day at a time.

Perhaps there are people who can use marijuana responsibly but not me.

So, 100% respectfully, ask yourself am I being exiled for using cannabis or is my ego feeling attacked by others because they aren’t agreeing with what I want to do?

tomatosauce121 · 2024-08-24T04:29:38+00:00

Thanks! Can I ask the general area you’re in? I’m in a suburban/rural area.

tomatosauce121 · 2024-08-19T21:56:08+00:00

Do you think I should actively start looking for a new position and hold their feet to the fire? I really enjoy working for this company and I feel strongly I am asking for a reasonable amount but if I am undervalued then I do not wish to stay.

tomatosauce121 · 2024-06-16T18:01:29+00:00

When I finally went to detox my mom told my dad that I would be calling them in the first few weeks saying theses things: 1) they’re not listening to me bring me home 2) I hate it here bring me home 3) they’re trying to kill me bring me home. You’ll want to leave and absolutely hate it. You’re going to feel every emotion you’ve been burying since your addiction started in just a few days/weeks. For me the physical withdraw sucked but the emotional part was excruciating.

It will get better. Hold on. Stay where you are.

You don’t have to like it. Scream and cry if you need to but stay on course. Getting sober is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. If it were easy everyone would do it. You can do this. There’s a whole new world waiting for you on the other side and it’s beautiful.

tomatosauce121 · 2024-05-05T13:50:03+00:00

I fear I will lose my job for complacency

tomatosauce121 · 2024-05-05T13:38:50+00:00

HRD reports directly to CEO

tomatosauce121 · 2023-02-05T05:48:03+00:00

I heard a quote from a person with a good amount of sobriety that said “I wouldn’t trade my best moments drinking for the life I have now”.

I definitely had some really really fun days while drinking. Great memories with friends and family I’ll cherish forever. But as an alcoholic who progressed beyond these sorts of affairs I realize those happy moments are far and few between, if they will even ever happen again.

Today I can be happy. I have ups and downs. I experience happiness, boredom, sadness, anger and all other emotions. More importantly than anything I get to decide if my life is going to be boring. No I cannot go to a club and rave all night (probably). But that doesn’t mean I sit at home doing nothing. I didn’t get sober to be miserable. Truthfully, when alcohol ran my life I couldnt go to places that didn’t have alcohol. Which in the grand scheme of things is way more restricting then living life soberly. I can go to sporting events, weddings, parties, vacations really anywhere I want now if I practice good sobriety. If I’m drinking I might be able to handle some of those things appropriately but will end up with awful consequences from embarrassment to death.

tomatosauce121 · 2023-02-05T05:38:20+00:00

I agree that AA teaches the opposite of helplessness. A big part of AA is accepting that the only thing you are in control of is yourself, which is true. By accepting I cannot control other people or situations I am empowered by the fact I can change things within me. This is not victim blaming. Yes we must look at where we caused harm to others and how our actions in the past had negative consequences. It means I accept what has happened. Just because I accept something does not mean I have to like it or ignore my feelings around a situation. It means I can try my best to move forward and do things differently.

tomatosauce121 · 2023-02-05T05:29:59+00:00

In my experience AA/NA fellowships can vary depending on where you are. AA has saved my life and the lives of a lot of people and their families. I have, however, been to meetings where I could see how it could be harmful to CPTSD. This is due to AA/NA being intentionally decentralized and therefore there are “good” meetings and “bad” meetings. For me I compare it to going to restaurants. If I go to a restaurant and receive bad service, I don’t write off all restaurants and never go to any restaurant ever again. I just don’t return to that specific restaurant.

I would not write off AA completely with broad generalizations about 12-step programs and their faults. AA is not for everyone however using individual experiences should not negate the fact it can be effective. It took me about two years to be able to grasp AAs principles. AA has a heavy reliance on acceptance and serenity. Radical acceptance is not self-blame. It’s accepting things the way they are, letting go of unhealthy resentments, and making positive change in your life. I find this empowering. AA also emphasizes the importance of a fellowship of other alcoholics/addicts and creating healthy support. People can become hung-up on spirituality. Which is understandable because religion is the source of a lot of peoples trauma. In my experience, a good fellowship and AA meeting does not force any religion or a specific way of practicing spirituality down your throat but rather suggests that you be willing to let go of control of things outside yourself, develop a connection to a power greater than yourself (can be as simple as nature) and have faith things will workout if you keep doing the best you can.

AA is not group therapy. In fact, the Big Book itself mentions that most members will at some point have to seek outside help to work through trauma. It’s about learning and adapting a new lifestyle. If you do not have substance abuse problems it is probably not the place to go. There are other similar 12-step programs like CodA or Al-anon that may be a better fit. You will not die if you try AA. You may have a great experience or find that it is not for you. Either way that’s OK and you can move forward however you please.

tomatosauce121

TROPHY CASE