Immigration agents descended on nearly 100 7-Eleven stores across the country Wednesday — including five in the Los Angeles area — serving employment audit notices and conducting interviews to determine whether employees there are eligible to work in the United States.

In all of Southern California, four audit notices were served to 7-Eleven stores in the city of Los Angeles and one in Culver City, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.

In Northern California, seven of the popular convenience stores were targeted with employment notices, according to James Schwab, an ICE spokesman in San Francisco. No arrests were made during the operation in California.

ICE officials declined to provide locations of the stores they visited, but ICE agents were seen at one 7-Eleven store in Koreatown early Wednesday.

Overall, 98 stores in 17 states and Washington D.C. were targeted, including California, New York, Texas and Florida, according to a release from ICE. Twenty-one people suspected of being in the country illegally were arrested nationwide and given notices to appear in immigration court.

“Today’s actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: (ICE) will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable,” Thomas D. Homan, ICE deputy director and senior official performing the duties of the director, said in a written statement.

Homan argued that businesses that hire undocumented workers serve to attract illegal immigration into the country.

Wednesday’s nationwide operation stems from a 2013 ICE Homeland Security Investigations probe into a number of 7-Eleven franchises that resulted in the arrest of nine Long Island, New York franchise owners and managers for conspiring to commit wire fraud, stealing identifies and concealing and harboring undocumented workers. Nearly all pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in restitution for back wages stolen from employees, according to ICE.

Derek Benner, a top ICE official, told The Associated Press that Wednesday’s operation was “the first of many” and “a harbinger of what’s to come” for employers. He said there would be more employment audits and investigations, though there is no numerical goal.

“This is what we’re gearing up for this year — and what you’re going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters. From there, we will look at whether these cases warrant an administrative posture or criminal investigation,” said Benner, acting head of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, which oversees cases against employers.

“It’s not going to be limited to large companies or any particular industry, big medium and small,” he added. “It’s going to be inclusive of everything that we see out there.”

ICE officials said the investigation is ongoing and that any criminal charges — or other penalties — will be coordinated with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The notices ICE issued alert businesses that the agency is going to audit their hiring records to ensure they are abiding by the federal law that requires them to verify the identity and employment eligibility of those they hire. Once notified, employers have three business days to produce their company’s employment eligibility (I-9) records so that ICE can conduct an inspection, according to ICE officials.

Those employers found to be in violation could be fined and ultimately prosecuted if they are knowingly breaking the law.

7-Eleven’s corporate office said they were aware of the ICE actions taking place at certain franchise locations. But the office noted that franchisees are independent business owners who are “solely responsible” for their hiring decisions along with verifying work eligibility.

“All store associates in a franchised store are employees of the franchise and not 7-Eleven, Inc,” 7-Eleven’s corporate office said in a statement.

The 7-Eleven franchise agreement requires all franchise business owners to comply with federal, state and local employment laws, officials said.

“7-Eleven takes compliance with immigration laws seriously and has terminated the franchise agreements of franchisees convicted of violating these laws,” the statement said.

Michael Kaufman, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said while the ACLU is looking into the matter, it appears that ICE may have apprehended a number of employees who were working at 7-Elevens on the basis they were in the country unlawfully.

“If that’s the case, we might be seeing a troubling return of the type of enforcement practices that existed under the (George W.) Bush Administration, where ICE would routinely raid places of employment and arrest workers there whose only violation is that they were alleged to be in the country unlawfully,” he said.

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, in a statement, said every worker, regardless of immigration status, has rights and any violation by an employer — or a government agency — should be denounced.

“Workers should know they have the right to remain silent, avoid incriminating yourself, and seek legal immigration help right away,” the immigrant rights’ group said in a statement, adding that families should develop a plan in advance of any potential encounters with ICE.

In Los Angeles’ Koreatown, seven agents arriving in three unmarked cars closed a store for 20 minutes to explain the audit to the only employee there, a clerk with a valid green card. Agents, wearing blue jackets marked ICE, told arriving customers that the store was closed briefly for a federal inspection. A driver delivering cases of beer was told to wait in the parking lot.

The manager was Bangladeshi and the owner, reached by phone, told the clerk to accept whatever documents were served. Agents said they would return Tuesday for the employment records they requested.

Echo Park resident David Dorantes, 37, said he comes to that 7-Eleven once a week for coffee and to rent movies. He said it was “unfortunate” that U.S. immigration officials were targeting employers.

“These guys are out here working, and they’re not doing anything wrong,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right.”

Silver Lake resident Sean Rinehart, 65, said he does not agree with some of the more “liberal” policies toward immigration in California, particularly when it comes to immigrants involved in criminal activity. But he felt that the owners of the Koreatown 7-Eleven seemed like an “honest” family.

“I’ve left my (credit) card in there, and they’ll go right after (me), or if the charge is incorrect they get right on it,” he said.

As for why immigration officials chose to target 7-Eleven stores, Rinehart said he feels immigration officials likely had a reason. However, he felt the operators of this particular location are “solid” and didn’t strike him as the type to break immigration laws.

“I’ve gotten to know them over the years … I come six or seven times a week and this is a good place to come because the law enforcement are here at night.”

Rinehart said he spoke to one of the daughters of the 7-Eleven operator who said ‘‘Mom, you’ve just got to take care of the customers. Don’t mind this, because you’ve got nothing to hide,’” Rinehart said.

Richard Barboza, a customer of a random 7-Eleven store in Sun Valley, said the ICE raids might alienate some customers.

“When people hear in the news about the raids, they try to avoid certain places,” he said. “The 7-Eleven store might be another place for them to avoid.”

Still, Barboza said he supported ICE operations.

“My wife is from Honduras,” Barboza said, adding that he is of Mexican descent and born and raised in the U.S. “I spent about $20,000 to fix my wife’s papers. Other immigrants should do the same. When their children grow up, they are going to compete for jobs with our children. That’s not fair. The ICE is just doing its job.”

Manjit Singh, who operates a 7-Eleven store along North Towne Avenue just north of the 10 Freeway in Pomona, had not heard of the immigration actions Wednesday but said they should not be a concern to him or other operators.

“You check documents before you hire anybody,” Singh said. “You follow the U.S., state and city laws and that’s it.”

He added that the corporation provides franchisees with the tools and systems necessary to meet all local. state and federal regulations and franchisees use those resources.

“If you are doing the right thing you don’t have to be afraid,” he said.

Melissa Gaona, 21, a Redlands resident at a Redlands 7-Eleven said the operation by federal agents was a good thing because oftentimes immigrants are exploited by unethical employers into working long hours without pay.

“But what is needed is a separate program so that these people (the employees) can get work legally,” she said.

The Associated Press along with SCNG reporters Elizabeth Chou, Olga Grigoryants, Jim Steinberg and Monica Rodriguez contributed to this report.