Thread: 11 face prison, deportation

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11 face prison, deportation
By Steven P. Wagner, The Forum
Published Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Eleven men hired by a Fargo-based railroad track repair company face prison time and possible deportation after their arrests by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The arrests followed a traffic stop near Lakota, N.D., and an investigation into occupants staying at a hotel there. The men all are from Mexico and accused of being in the country illegally.

The case marks another in a list of suspected illegal workers arrested in the state, including more than 30 construction workers in Bismarck since this summer and those found during an investigation into an illegal immigrant smuggling ring for Chinese restaurants.

In the most recent case, federal prosecutors filed charges Nov. 10 against 10 of the railroad workers for using false Social Security numbers. Another man, Jose Francisco Sanchez-Garcia, faces a charge for transporting illegal immigrants.

Court records show Sanchez-Garcia told agents he had been hired to work for Bledsoe Rail Services Inc. of Fargo and give instructions to the men in Spanish. The men earned about $10 an hour.

Each of the men appeared, along with an interpreter, last week in U.S. District courts in Fargo and Grand Forks.

Records also show the company provided worker documents for each man, but checks by the Border Patrol showed the men used numbers assigned to other people.

One of the men, Eduardo Luna-Sierra, also faces a charge of possessing a fake green card.

If convicted, each charge carries a maximum five-year prison term. The men also could face deportation, an administrative process handled separately by an immigration judge.

A Web site for Bledsoe Rail Services states the company has more than 30 years in track welding and repair experience. The company offers consulting and field and shop services.

Jodee McCracken of West Fargo, the registered agent for Bledsoe Rail Services, and Jessie Bledsoe, also affiliated with the company, could not be reached for comment.

It’s common for Class I railroad companies to hire outside contractors for help with track repairs and maintenance, said Tom White, a spokesman for the Association of American Railroads.

The nation’s seven largest railroad companies are Class I railroads.

AAR statistics shows the average annual salary for Class I maintenance employees was $55,000 in 2004. The seven big railroads employ more than 34,000 maintenance workers.

Maintenance work often includes hard labor and employees need to have some level of training, White said. “These people have to be able to operate sophisticated equipment,� he said.

The union representing maintenance workers at the railroads expressed concerns over security, safety and cheap labor. “It highlights the concerns we have about unauthorized personnel given access to railroad property,� said Rick Inclima, director of safety and education for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Teamsters Rail Conference.

“I don’t blame them (illegal immigrants) for trying to work,� he said. “I do blame the railroads, and I blame the contractors.�

BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway are both Class I railroads operating in North Dakota and Minnesota.

“BNSF is looking into this matter further,� company spokesman Gus Melonas said. He declined further comment.

In a preliminary check Tuesday, Canadian Pacific spokeswoman Laura Baenan said it’s not clear if the company contracted with Bledsoe Rail Services, although at least two officials said they hadn’t heard of the company.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Steven P. Wagner at (701) 241-5542

11 face federal charges


The following men face federal charges for

illegally working in the U.S.:


• Luis Enrique Luna-Sierra, 18

• Jose Daniel Soto-Cordova, 20

• Joel Soto-Hernandez, 20

• Jose Francisco Sanchez-Garcia, 28

• Antonio Espinosa-Campos, 29

• Jose Ramiro Soto-Cordova, 18

• Juan Miguel Mejia-Sierra, 20

• Oscar Sierra-Orduna, 31

• Jose David Sierra-Hernandez, 22

• Anselmo Hernandez-Soto, 21

• Eduardo Luna-Sierra, 19

Let's see, illegal highway workers, illegals at nuke plants, military installations, airports and now working on the rail system. What's next??