April 16, 2008

Employers Take Note: ICE Raids Conducted Today Across the Nation

The Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued their campaign of going after companies in targeted industries where undocumented workers are thought to work. Only last week, ICE announced that their agents had arrested 53 immigration status violators working at the luxurious Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia. During that operation Mark McGraw, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of the ICE office of investigations in Washington, DC stated that “companies that use cheap, illegal alien labor as a business model should be on notice that ICE is dramatically enhancing its enforcement efforts against illegal employment schemes." The most recent ICE raids took place today across various parts of the country.

Pilgrim Poultry

ICE agents raided Pilgrim's Pride poultry plants in five states in a crackdown on an alleged scam to provide fake identification for illegal immigrant workers, authorities said. Currently their has been no news of company indictments in fact the company was apparently working with ICE in an effort to thwart criminal activity.

Assistant Secretary Julie Myers stated that ICE expected to have more than 100 people charged in the raids at the nation's largest chicken producer.

"Identity theft is a horrible problem that can ruin a person's good name," Myers said. The evidence ICE uncovered indicates that hundreds of Pilgrim Poultry workers illegally assumed the identities of U.S. citizens, using stolen or fraudulently acquired Social Security numbers and other identity documents which they used to get jobs at the company’s facilities.

The raids were part of a long-term investigation, officials said. Plants in Mount Pleasant, Texas; Batesville, Arkansas; Live Oak, Florida.; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Moorefield, West Virginia., were raided, authorities said.

Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for the, said the company went to ICE agents with information about identity theft at the Arkansas plant. Atkinson said the company uses E-Verify, a federal database to check identity documents of new employees, but that wouldn't stop a person from using a real, but stolen ID. Atkinson said no criminal or civil charges have been filed against the company, which has about 55,000 employees and operates dozens of facilities mostly across the South and in Mexico and Puerto Rico. However, it remains to seen how the most recent raids will affect the company’s business operations and if ICE will choose to audit the company’s I-9s nationwide.

Shipley Do-Nuts

ICE continued their nation-wide raids with a raid on Shipley Do-Nuts dough factory. Agents arrived before dawn at the Houston doughnut plant and arrested almost 30 unauthorized workers. It is believed that some of the arrested workers lived at the Shipley Do-Nuts dough factory, a four-block plant that includes a dormitory for workers.

Nogales Mexican Restaurant

Nogales Mexican Restaurants across the country were also raided today by ICE agents. The raids were part of a single criminal investigation that also involves Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Georgia. In addition to ICE, members of the state Departments of Labor, State Police, County Sheriff’s Departments and local police department were involved in the raids, showcasing ICE’s increased cooperation with local and state law enforcement in conducting worksite enforcement operations.

In Buffalo, N.Y., federal law enforcement officials announced the arrest of Jorge Delarco and nine associates accused of employing illegal Mexican immigrants in seven restaurants in four states. Authorities said the workers were forced to staff the Mexican restaurants for long hours with little pay to work off smuggling fees and rent. The restaurants' owner is charged with conspiring to harbor illegal aliens.

Authorities also arrested 45 illegal immigrants during the early morning raids in western New York, Bradford, Pa.; Mentor, Ohio; Wheeling and New Martinsville, W.Va., and Georgia.

Wednesday’s raids demonstrate the seriousness and sophistication which the Federal government is now utilizing on worksite enforcement actions. Additionally, it shows a weakness in the current immigration system, especially with employer's increasing reliance on the E-verify program. As the raids on Pilgrim Poultry demonstrate participation in the federal electronic employment verification system does not guarantee accuracy as the system cannot detect identity theft. Stronger biometric identifiers will need to be implemented in order for the system to be adequately improved.

GT attorneys regularly assist clients with developing I-9 compliance programs, conducting internal audits and defending employers in investigations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We will continue to provide updates on worksite enforcement actions conducted by ICE.