Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Raid is opening shot of immigration crackdown
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 21, 2006
WASHINGTON - The government plans to crack down ever harder on employers who harbor and hire illegal immigrants, pursuing companies that ignore the law so they can exploit cheap labor.
"We are going to move beyond the current level of activity to a higher level in each month and year to come," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. He pledged to "come down as hard as possible" on violators.
Federal agents on Wednesday arrested seven current and former managers of IFCO Systems, a manufacturer of crates and pallets, on criminal charges, and more than 1,100 people were arrested on administrative immigration charges at more than 40 IFCO sites in the U.S.
"Our nation's communities cannot be a wild frontier where illegal aliens and unscrupulous employees subvert our nation's laws," said Julie Myers, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Don Sherman, director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, an advocate for immigrant workers and their rights, was skeptical about the government's move.
"I think the timing is very suspicious because there are a number of rallies coming up around the country promoting immigration reform," he said.
Chertoff denied the timing of the stepped up enforcement had anything to do with recent immigration demonstrations, saying the investigations began more than a year ago.
Messages left with IFCO officials were not immediately returned Thursday. In a statement Wednesday, the company pledged to cooperate with the investigation and comply with state and federal requirements.
The Netherlands-based company describes itself as the leading pallet services company in America. It reported $116-million in profits last year on sales of $576-million.
More than half of the company's roughly 5,800 employees during 2005 had invalid or mismatched Social Security numbers, the government alleges.
Six of seven current and former IFCO managers charged with felony conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens were released on bail.
The managers could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each alien involved, as well as forfeitures.
[Last modified April 21, 2006, 01:43:05]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
