Thread: 2 arraigned over immigration raids on NW Arkansas restaurant

I'm sure these were some of Huckabee's favorite places for fajitas and tequila:

2 arraigned over immigration raids on NW Arkansas restaurants
01/14/2008
Associated Press

Two men arrested in December raids on Mexican restaurants in northwest Arkansas pleaded not guilty Monday to three felony charges in federal court.

Armando Reyes, 33, and Arturo Reyes Jr., 45, face charges they harbored and aided illegal immigrants and laundered money through the Acambaro Mexican Restaurants and Garcia's Distribution Co. in northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri. Debbie Groom, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe, said the two remain held without bond.

Groom said two others facing charges in the case — Lucila Huaracha, 33, and Silvia Reyes, 36 — were not arraigned Monday. She declined to comment further on their cases.

Court documents indicate that alleged unlawful activities involved in the case included identity theft, possession and use of counterfeit identity documents, employment-eligibility verification fraud and money laundering.

Prosecutors said 23 people were arrested in the raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Agents seized more than $100,000 from 15 bank accounts associated with the businesses.

Separate civil forfeiture complaints in U.S. District Court claim four homes owned by the Reyes family, five Acambaro restaurants and a Garcia's warehouse were paid for with proceeds from dealings with illegal immigrants. The properties are valued altogether at more than $3.6 million.

ICE agents say a confidential informant tipped them that the Reyes family knowingly hired illegal immigrants and paid them "off the books." The raid comes after a similar set of raids earlier last year at Taqueria Michoacan restaurants in northwest Arkansas.
http://www.kmov.com/sharedcontent/APSto ... V2O00.html

Can this confiscated money be used to build more of the fence??????

The govt. needs to seize the homes, cars, bank accounts and businesses of every illegal alien arressted. Use the money to fund more ENFORCEMENT. Strong enforcement is better than a fence.

Just like in major drug arrests of drug lords, etc. where the fed's can seize all property and assets connected with the trade of the arrestee including anything purchased with proceeds, so too, should our immigration enforcement laws apply likewise to any illegal alien smugglers, employers and business owners and seize any of their assets. Anything seized can be auctioned off or sold and proceeds used to pay for more ICE raids and the Border Patrol.