The National Federation of Independent Businesses sent out a press release yesterday announcing that businesses could soon be audited to see if they’ve hired illegal immigrants.*

Only 1,000 businesses nationwide are likely to be audited by ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The NFIB is warning that despite the small numbers, employers need to be prepared.

Last spring, I.C.E. audited 30 Tennessee businesses in a crackdown on illegal workers in the Southeast. Most of those businesses were government contractors.

Valerie Nagoshiner of the NFIB in Tennessee says this year, the scope and timing of the investigation are unknown.

“And they are not telling us or anyone at this point if they are targeting a certain type of business—if it’s manufacturing, retail, service industry. We don’t know. It’s all across the board.”

The NFIB posted the press release on its website as a resource to members. It warns businesses that once notified of an audit, they’ll only have 3 working days to pull together the required paperwork.

On its website, ICE says it looks particularly at I-9 forms, which all employees must fill out to verify their identity. Incorrect I-9 forms can prove that a business intentionally hired an illegal immigrant.

ICE has not revealed what happened to the 30 Tennessee businesses audited last year.

*Yesterday we referred to the press release as an email blast. We regret this error.

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ICE acknowledged that it will inspect businesses of all sizes and in every state, with a focus on those “related to critical infrastructure and key resources.”