Thread: MO-McCaskill asks why workers released, employer not punishe

Sen. Claire McCaskill asking why undocumented workers were released and employer not punished
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KSDK -- Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) had some questions for the Homeland Security Secretary at a committee meeting in Washington D.C. Wednesday about a recent story involving illegal workers at a Farmington construction site.

Last week, St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock arrested 14 undocumented workers at a hotel construction site in Farmington. Bullock said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told him to release 13 of the 14 workers.

McCaskill asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to explain why Sheriff Bullock was instructed to release the workers and what measures will be taken in the future to crack down on businesses hiring undocumented workers.

The bust hits a sore spot with unemployed workers in St. Francois County, where the unemployment rate is around 11 percent.

McCaskill said there was no attempt to penalize the employer for hiring the undocumented workers. She has called for an investigation into Thomas Construction out of Lake of the Ozarks and its subcontractor for using undocumented workers. This company is not affiliated with a St. Louis-based company with the same name.

Napolitano told the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee the big challenge is communication between levels of law enforcement.

In the meantime, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster will launch an investigation into the use of undocumented workers on a job site in Farmington. Under a law passed by Missouri lawmakers in 2008, employers that knowingly hire or continue to employ undocumented workers can face civil liability in state courts and lose their business licenses.


http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.as ... yid=196644

Last week, St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock arrested 14 undocumented workers at a hotel construction site in Farmington. Bullock said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told him to release 13 of the 14 workers.

McCaskill asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to explain why Sheriff Bullock was instructed to release the workers and what measures will be taken in the future to crack down on businesses hiring undocumented workers.

At least someone in a position of leadership is asking the obvious question!

One of her constituents probably called her. They ask, but they don't act on it.