Thread: DL-Feds raid 7 fast-food restaurants in NCCo

Saturday, August 30, 2008Feds raid 7 fast-food restaurants in NCCo
26 of 27 unauthorized workers from Mexico
By SUMMER HARLOW and SEAN O'SULLIVAN • The News Journal • August 30, 2008


Immigration authorities have targeted seven Burger King restaurants in New Castle County for routinely hiring undocumented workers, according to a federal search warrant unsealed this week.


The search warrant, signed Aug. 8, indicates a magistrate judge found probable cause "for evidence of violations of immigration laws by illegal aliens" at seven franchise locations across the county.

Twenty-seven unauthorized workers, 26 from Mexico and one from El Salvador, were arrested Aug. 13, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Mike Gilhooly said. Seven men and seven women were detained, while 13 women were released for humanitarian reasons, such as being the sole caregiver for a relative, or health reasons. None of those arrested had a prior criminal record and only one had previously been deported, Gilhooly said, adding no other details about those arrested was available.

A total of 78 employees -- between eight and 18 per location -- suspected of illegally working at the restaurants were identified in the search warrant filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington. The investigation is ongoing, Gilhooly said.

All seven restaurants were owned by the same franchise, according to the documents. Investigators targeted the business because it is part of a "high risk industry" for violating employment laws and has been "the subject of prior leads."

According to court papers, a December review of a sample of work papers on file for employees at the franchise revealed 64 percent of the forms had alien registration numbers that had expired, didn't match the employees' names or never were issued by ICE. Because of the unusually high percentage, more of the franchise's employee forms were checked and more problems were discovered.

This led to the search earlier this month of the seven restaurant locations.

This week, a sign on the Burger King on U.S. 13 and Del. 273 indicated the restaurant was operating on "temporary hours" and was not serving breakfast. An employee said the limited service was a result of the ICE action.

The restaurant's manager referred all questions to the franchise owner, who did not return repeated phone calls.

Delaware's immigrant community has been on high alert since word of the Burger King operation spread.

Spanish-speaking shoppers at the Wal-Mart near New Castle, and immigrants living in nearby apartment complexes, all had heard about the raids. But no one, even those here legally, was willing to talk about the raids on the record.

Guillermina Gonzalez, executive director of Voices Without Borders in Wilmington, said a list provided by the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia identified 23 workers who had been arrested. The consulate said the raid had been conducted respectfully, she said.

Wilmington immigration attorney Rick Hogan, who is representing several of the Burger King workers arrested, said many of the women have children who are U.S. citizens.

"To their credit, ICE released several mothers from detention but required electronic monitoring," he said. "That gave them a chance to return to their children. Some of the workers arrested are recent immigrants who came to the U.S. within the past five years looking for work. Minimum-wage restaurant jobs were about the only thing the women could get."

The Mexican consulate could not be reached for comment Thursday.

"As you can imagine, families are living in fear, and this has brought a situation that no one really wants in the state," Gonzalez said. "We understand the law needs to be respected, but by the same token, these individuals come for economic reasons, just looking for opportunities to advance."

Since a plan for undocumented immigrants to self-deport was declared a failure last week, ICE has stepped up its workplace enforcement. Only eight people volunteered during the three-week, five-city pilot program that gave undocumented immigrants facing court-ordered deportations 90 days to plan their departure themselves instead of being arrested, detained and deported.

Immigrant advocates say they are worried immigration officials will use the scrapped trial program as justification for tougher enforcement and more raids.

Also this week, the largest single-site raid -- at electronic transformer manufacturer Howard Industries, Inc., in Mississippi -- resulted in the arrest of nearly 600 unauthorized immigrant workers.

Michael Holt, ICE Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Investigations in New Orleans, said in a statement that the operation was "part of ICE's ongoing nationwide effort to shut down the employment magnet fueling illegal immigration. We are committed to strengthening the integrity of our nation's immigration system."

Gonzalez said it's no surprise raids have intensified.

"As long as comprehensive immigration reform is not passed, the situation will not improve," she said. "I don't see how else this is going to be solved."

Hogan said the local raids are part of a larger, nationwide enforcement strategy.

"The jails are full of people waiting for deportation; the immigration courts are full with more cases that will result in even more deportation orders," he said. "Perhaps this is part of big push, politically speaking, to set the table for another attempt at comprehensive immigration reform during the next congress. After all, even with all of the recent arrests, the illegal immigration issue still is as big as ever."

Contact Summer Harlow at 324-2794 or sharlow@delawareonline.com.
Contact Sean O'Sullivan at 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com.


http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... /808300349

Since a plan for undocumented immigrants to self-deport was declared a failure last week, ICE has stepped up its workplace enforcement.

And rightfully so.

Option A. Leave!
Option B. Be Removed!

Dixie

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