Thread: Hundreds of Workers Held in Immigration Raid

February 26, 2011

Gonzalez sentencing March 3

Only HI exec charged in illegal immigration raid

By David Owens, newseditor@laurelleadercall.com
Laurel Leader-Call The Laurel Leader-Call
Sat Feb 26, 2011, 11:20 AM CST

LAUREL — A tentative sentencing date of March 3 has been set for the only executive charged in the nation’s largest workplace raid on illegal immigrants.

Jose Humberto Gonzalez pleaded guilty in December 2009 to conspiracy and admitted he hired hundreds of illegal immigrants at Howard Industries’ electrical transformer plant in Laurel.

Gonzalez’s sentencing had been delayed several times, leading some to believe that he has been cooperating with investigators.

The sentencing date falls just one week after the company pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett in Hattiesburg.

The company also agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine, an amount in excess of the fine amount the corporation ordinarily provided by the statute for the single count of conviction. Under the federal conspiracy statute, a corporation is ordinarily subject to a term of not less than one and not more than five years of probation, and a $500,000 fine.

According to court documents, Gonzalez served in various positions in the Human Resources Department of Howard Industries, most recently as Human Resources Manager at the transformer manufacturing plant, where he was responsible for hiring.

Court documents state that, from August 2000 until on or about Aug. 25, 2008, Howard Industries “by the actions of its Human Resources Manager, Jose Humberto Gonzalez, did knowingly and willfully conspireâ€

I don't recall any mention of anyone using fingerprints before.

[quote] According to the company, the identity and work authorization documents of every new employee, including fingerprints, are verified through the government's E-Verify program. Before the use of the E-Verify system, the company states it routinely sent all employees' information to the Social Security Office.

The company states it also provides its human resources employees with "training on I-9 procedures and E-Verify, regularly conducts I-9 audits, investigates allegations of identity theft in its workforce, and follows best hiring practices."

100-plus jailed in El Paso-area raids

Posted: 02/26/2011 12:00:00 AM MST

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-229560.html

Howard Industries HR Sentence

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-230185.html