Ex-security official says she did not question housekeeper

Lorraine Henderson was in federal court on a charge that she encouraged an illegal immigrant to remain in the country.

(Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe)
By Shelley Murphy
Globe Staff / March 20, 2010

A former top official for the US Department of Homeland Security testified yesterday that she did not question her Brazilian housekeeper about her immigration status, despite a colleague’s warning that the immigrant was in the country illegally.

“I didn’t think we had the authority to ask her if she was legal,’’ said Lorraine Henderson, taking the stand during her trial in federal court on a charge that she encouraged an illegal immigrant, the housekeeper, to remain in the country.

Henderson, 52, who was suspended without pay from her job as Boston area port director for Customs and Border Protection after her arrest 15 months ago on the charge, told jurors that she did not believe she had done anything wrong.

It is not a crime to hire an illegal immigrant to perform occasional domestic work, but it is a felony to encourage or entice that person to stay in the United States.

Henderson said she did not know that Fabiana Bitencourt had paid $10,000 to be smuggled into the country in the summer of 2001 when she hired her in March 2004 to clean her two-bedroom Salem condominium.

She said she paid Bitencourt $75 per cleaning about twice a month between 2004 and 2008, and referred her to a neighbor and co-worker, Nora Ehrlich.

But Ehrlich warned her in December 2005 that she had fired Bitencourt, Henderson acknowledged. Ehrlich urged her to fire the housekeeper, too. Henderson said Ehrlich told her, “I think she’s illegal. I asked her if she had a green card and she started crying.’’

Henderson said she responded, “Is that it? Whatever.’’

Describing an office climate at the Homeland Security’s office on Causeway Street in Boston that was marred by childish behavior and personal squabbles, Henderson told jurors that she and other colleagues disliked Ehrlich and called her unflattering nicknames.

Henderson testified that she dubbed Ehrlich “Dora the Explorer,’’ and even kept a Dora doll in her office.

“I know it sounds really mean, but she was all over the place,’’ said Henderson, admitting that she ignored Ehrlich “a lot,’’ but regrets ignoring her warning about the housekeeper.

After learning in early 2008 that Henderson still employed Bitencourt, Ehrlich reported her to their superiors, triggering an internal affairs investigation that led to Henderson’s indictment.

During cross-examination yesterday, Assistant US Attorney Diane C. Freniere noted that Homeland Security guidelines prohibit employees from knowingly associating with illegal immigrants, yet Henderson continued to let Bitencourt clean her home for years after being warned by Ehrlich.

“Did it occur to you to say, ‘Hey, this isn’t a personal thing, I work for the government, are you here illegally?’ ’’ Freniere said.

“No,’’ Henderson said.

Henderson acknowledged that at the time, she was sitting on a national disciplinary review board that reviewed cases all over the country and recommended disciplinary action for Customs and Border Protection employees who broke the rules.

Bitencourt, 31, of Peabody, testified Thursday that she cooperated with agents after they showed up at her door in May 2008. She secretly recorded conversations with Henderson and helped gather evidence against her.

During a Sept. 9, 2008, meeting that was secretly recorded and played for jurors, Bitencourt told Henderson that she had an immigration problem and needed her help.

Henderson offered to talk to someone to find out what options Bitencourt had and told her, “Don’t leave . . . ’Cause once you leave, you will never come back,’’ according to the recording.

Yesterday, Henderson said she thought Bitencourt was mistaken, and that she was a legal resident because she had given birth to a baby, who was a US citizen, in February 2008.

“Immigration is obviously not my expertise,’’ said Henderson, adding that she later learned that giving birth to a baby in the United States doesn’t automatically make an immigrant a legal resident.

Henderson said she consulted a co-worker, who was an immigration specialist, about Bitencourt’s situation and that colleague told her in October 2008, “I have some bad news for you. You need to hire a new cleaning woman.’’

Henderson said the colleague, Cynthia Sutton, told her there was nothing Bitencourt could do to become a legal resident.

“I felt so bad having to fire her,’’ said Henderson, adding that she was upset because she knew Bitencourt had the baby.

Henderson said she planned to fire Bitencourt in November, but never had the chance because the housekeeper failed to show up at her home again.

Henderson said she was shocked when agents showed up at her home on Dec. 5, 2008, and arrested her. She was suspended from her $140,000-a-year job without pay.

She told jurors she is now earning $10.25 an hour working as a part-time cashier at PetSmart, and works as a dog walker and dog sitter.

“Do you have a cleaning woman now?’’ asked her attorney, Francis J. DiMento.

“No, I can’t afford it,’’ Henderson said.

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