Two decades ago, Mi Pueblo Food Center began modestly as a small butcher shop run by an illegal immigrant. Now, the supermarket that caters to the Latino immigrant community has grown into a popular chain of 21 stores in California.
But with growth and success have come scrutiny from federal immigration authorities and clashes with a union that wants to represent Mi Pueblo's 3,200 workers and is leading a consumer boycott.
The predicament is thorny for a family-owned firm that relies almost exclusively on Latino immigrants for its workforce and its customer base.
The company is under pressure from an ongoing immigration audit and its decision to use a controversial federal program that screens the eligibility of new employees to work in the United States.
"We are feeling what is happening to us in a way that most companies might not, because we are founded by an immigrant and depend on immigrants to survive," said Perla Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the San Jose, Calif-based company.
She said the company did not knowingly hire any illegal immigrants.
To San Jose-based United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, which has been organizing Mi Pueblo workers around the state, the company's move to E-Verify in mid-August meant one thing only: the self-styled immigrant-friendly employer was cooperating with ICE.
The Obama administration has increasingly relied on workplace audits as an alternative to immigration raids in which agents with weapons handcuffed workers and placed them in deportation proceedings.
But the move toward the so-called "silent raids" â€" which have increased from 254 to 2,736 in the past five years â€"has carried unintended consequences for some employers. They have to fire workers who lack employment authorization, but they also can face the ire of labor unions.
Experts say immigration audits can cause a particular dilemma for companies that cater to immigrants.
"There's a great irony for companies who serve immigrant communities, because of the possibility that many of their customers are undocumented. They can serve them, but they're not supposed to hire them," said Aarti Kohli, an immigration policy expert at the University of California, Berkeley.
"I think sometimes community members feel, here is a company that wants us to buy their services and in return, what are they doing for us?"
In response to the audit, Mi Pueblo defended itself on the radio and in community meetings, and launched a campaign to promote immigration reform.
Mi Pueblo officials say they were "forced" to use the E-Verify program by immigration officials after the government started conducting an audit of the company's hiring records to ensure Mi Pueblo was not employing illegal immigrants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would not confirm the audit, because the agency releases information only if an investigation results in fines or criminal convictions.
ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said audits are usually triggered by leads or complaints from various sources and that investigators don't force companies to use E-Verify, which is a voluntary program.
The early journey of Juvenal Chavez, founder and CEO of Mi Pueblo, may mirror that of some customers and workers. A former teacher from the Mexican state of Michoacan, Chavez came to the U.S. illegally in 1984 at age 24.
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