Thread: Federal authorities arrest illegal workers at Navy base

http://www.boston.com

Federal authorities arrest illegal workers at Navy base
March 16, 2006

NEWPORT, R.I. --Federal immigration agents this week arrested four janitors who they said were working illegally for a cleaning contractor at a Navy base.

The four workers -- three Guatemalan nationals and one Colombian -- are among 140 employees at Aid Maintenance Co. who are ineligible to work in the United States, said Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Aid Maintenance, a Pawtucket-based janitorial service, contracts with the Navy's base in Newport and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.

The arrests Monday were part of an ongoing effort to identify illegal immigrants who have access to critical infrastructure or military bases, Grenier said.

Federal authorities didn't release the identifies of the detained employees, but company officials said they are Juan Morales Jr., Daniel Reyero, Heather Meads and Oramis Perez.

A federal immigration judge will be responsible for deciding whether the four employees will be deported.

Russell Bizier, the company's operations manager, said he believed his firm was duped by its workers and now must fire more than half of its 280 employees.

Aid Maintenance officials check every job applicant's documentation to make sure they're eligible to work, Bizier said. The firm voluntarily submits Social Security numbers to a government database to check their authenticity.

"It's quite evident that there's people coming into the country and they get and obtain documentation that appears to be genuine," Bizier said. "The burden of proof is not on the employer to be a detective."

Bizier said immigration officials have told him the company will not be fined. Grenier, the immigration spokeswoman, said she could only confirm that the investigation is continuing.

Russell Bizier, the company's operations manager, said he believed his firm was duped by its workers and now must fire more than half of its 280 employees.

Yeah right, half of his employees are illegal aliens and he got duped. Of course the feds aren't even going to prosecute him. What a waste of taxpayers money.

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!

Just how often are illegal immigrants going to show up at Naval Stations and Air Force bases, before getting caught? This should be an embarrassment to the government. Good job Homeland Security and ICE!

Yer doing a heck of a job, Chertie!

https://www.alipac.us/ftopict-19276.html
See my post above. Illegals appear on military bases ALL the time, and it is a major national security issue. The base where I live has some agriculture fields that are leased as outparcels to civilian contractors--guess who picks the crops? Beyond that they hop the barbed wire fence to seek shelter, provisions, etc. Our neighbor (on base) had one in their children's playhouse last year. They do turn them over to immigration control, but who knows what happens from there? My concern that I've raised to security personnel on my base is what happens when it's a terrorist and not just an illegal?

Congratulations, Jorge. We'll just have to nickname you "the security president". You really know how to make an American feel secure, and oh by the way, we're feeling real proud of our leadership these days.