Maryland

George Anagnostou of Kingsville, Md., pleaded guilty to harboring at least 24 undocumented workers from Timbuktu and By the Docks restaurants for private financial gain and commercial advantage.

Florida

Three Miami residents were charged with conspiring to induce undocumented workers to enter and remain in the United States by providing them with employment at a Miami-Dade school construction project.

Texas

OSC reached a settlement with Aquatico Poll Management of Sugarland in which Aquatico agreed to pay a $100,000 civil fine and $499.20 in backpay following allegations of document abuse by the company.

Texas

Five managers of Houston-based IFCO Systems North America were indicted for allegedly conspiring to unlawfully employ undocumented workers.

New York

John Jay College agreed to a civil penalty of $23,360 and $10,072.73 in back pay with interest in a settlement with OSC following allegations of document abuse.

Virginia

ValleyCrest Companies, a landscaping company located in Spotsylvania, agreed to pay $11,173 in back pay in a settlement with OSC following allegations that the company discriminated against domestic workers in favor of foreign workers under the H-2B visa program.

Florida

A former Palm Beach County spa owner pled guilty to two criminal counts for hiring and harboring two undocumented workers following the execution of a federal search warrant. As part of a plea bargain, the former owner must pay $150,000 in addition to a possible prison sentence. 

National

Argosy University, a college with 19 locations throughout the United States, agreed to pay $7,100 in an OSC settlement to an individual alleging citizenship status discrimination and intimidation.

Illinois

Based on a worksite enforcement investigation conducted by ICE, the president and office manager of two Bensenville, IL staffing companies were charged with hiring several undocumented workers. If convicted, they could face a maximum of  five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

California

Based on a May 15, 2008 ICE raid of a San Diego, CA restaurant, a federal grand jury indicted the restaurant’s president and a manager on charges of hiring undocumented workers and supplying the government with phony documents. The two pled not guilty to charges of conspiracy, eight counts of phony documents and three counts of harboring undocumented workers at their business location.

Arizona

ICE agents raided over five Arizona shuttle businesses, arresting dozens of van operators and smugglers accused of transporting illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix, AZ.

California

A federal court indicted The French Gourmet Inc., a San Diego-area bakery, on charges of knowingly hiring undocumented workers. According to the indictment, the bakery’s president and manager knowingly hired unauthorized workers and advised workers to get new Social Security numbers after receiving No-Match letters from the Social Security Administration. The individuals were also charged with 12 felony counts of making false statements and shielding undocumented employees from detection. If convicted, each faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

Nationwide

The Washington Post published a leaked internal memo authored by ICE’s head of Detention and Removal Operations that urged field officers to boost immigration enforcement activity against non-criminal immigrants in order to meet a quota of 400,000 deportations for 2010. Later that day, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton disavowed the memo and said it had been withdrawn.

South Carolina

ICE agents and the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office’s ICE Task Force officers executed search warrants at two restaurants and five residences located in Beaufort and Bluffton, SC. The warrants were executed in connection with allegations relating to the harboring, transportation and hiring of undocumented immigrants. The warrants were executed at two Jade Garden Chinese restaurants and several residences. ICE agents administratively arrested 15 workers for being unlawfully present in the United States. The owner of the restaurant, an ICE immigration fugitive, was among those arrested.

Maryland

ICE agents in Baltimore, MD conducted enforcement operations at two restaurants, one office and several residences. ICE agents administratively arrested 29 undocumented immigrants for being unlawfully present in the United States.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee

ICE issued notices to 180 business owners and will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether or not they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations. The names and locations of the businesses were not released since it is an ongoing investigation.

Maryland

After an ICE investigation, the owner of a Hanover, MD Chinese restaurant was arrested on charges of transporting, employing and harboring illegal immigrants. The criminal complaint alleges that between January of 2009 and February 4, 2010, the owner knowingly hired foreign nationals who were not authorized to work in the United States, transported the foreign nationals to their jobs and harbored them in residences she provided. According to the criminal complaint, five foreign nationals were specifically identified during the investigation as working at the restaurant.