Weir said he knew what auditors would soon discover - that zero of his roughly 35 workers were illegal immigrants. Yet, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told him that - due to errors on his workers' employment eligibility forms - he would still have to pay a $13,300 fine.

Right around the time Weir was cutting his penalty check to the federal government, ICE internal records show auditors closed another case involving a Dallas-area car wash where 70 percent of its 276 employees were found to have "suspect documents," signalling potential problems with their U.S. work authorization, ICE records show. That employer was issued a warning, but paid no fines and faced no criminal charges.
Equal justice under the law? It appears some people are more equal than others.