Thread: Alleged illegals arrested at SoCal Army base

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Posted on Fri, Aug. 26, 2005


Alleged illegals arrested at SoCal Army base

TIM MOLLOY

Associated Press


LOS ANGELES - As part of a crackdown on undocumented workers employed in sites deemed important to national security, immigration officials arrested six men they said were Mexican nationals working for a company that helps build military housing.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents apprehended the men as they arrived for work Friday at Fort Irwin, east of Barstow. The agency said the men worked for Laurence-Hovenier, Inc., a Corona-based company that does construction framing for housing at the Army base.

The company's Fred Hovenier said his business didn't hire anyone without proper documentation.

"If they were working for us, they provided us with the necessary documents," he said.

At least one of the men arrested had a counterfeit green card, officials said. But the agency also said an audit of hiring records found that more than 40 percent of those on the company's payroll may not have been authorized to work in the United States.

"We are continuing to investigate," agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.

The arrests were part of a wider effort targeting businesses that provide workers for such sensitive locations as airports and military bases. The agency says unauthorized workers could be exploited by terrorists, smugglers, or traffickers.

Fort Irwin is home to the National Training Center for Army brigade combat teams, the agency said.

The names of the men arrested were not released. One of the men had illegally re-entered the United States after being deported and is subject to criminal prosecution, the agency said.

The others will either be voluntarily returned to Mexico or deported there after facing immigration charges, the agency said.

The men's names were not released.

I am simply amazed, now this is the 7th time since June 2, 2005. That on military installations that this has happen.