Comment by zahlman

1. They do that too; see e.g. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5411184-ice-crac... .

2. Are they really "the supply"? There are so many illegal immigrants in the US now (so many that they have to prioritize the ones who have committed violent crimes, hence the "worst of the worst" propaganda) that it seems entirely reasonable to imagine they could start their own illicit businesses and employ each other.

3. Even habitually hiring illegal aliens doesn't appear to be a felony (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1324a section (f)), so immigration officers such as ICE agents require a warrant to make an arrest for that specific case (unless they witness the crime per https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1357 section (5)(a), and I'm not even sure what that means for the case of unlawfully employing someone).

4. Yes, of course realpolitik also plays a role. Clearly these businesses aren't part of some conspiracy to overrun the country with illegal immigrants, so it wouldn't make sense to get the owners on Trump's bad side. These businesses would hire citizens if they were willing to work for the same pay and under the same conditions, and generally it's been the Republicans opposing things like minimum wage increases.