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Immigration agents raid firm
26 Mexican workers are arrested at Northwest Health Care Linen


JON GAMBRELL
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD


Federal immigration agents arrested 26 Mexican nationals working at a Bellingham company Wednesday on suspicion of being in the country illegally, an official said Friday.

The raid took place midmorning at Northwest Health Care Linen, located on Strider Loop Road just off of East Bakerview and Hannegan roads. Armed with a sealed civil search warrant, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered the business to question employees, said ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice.

Agents arrested 26 workers at the business, 21 of whom remained in custody Friday at ICE's Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. The other five were released to care for children, Kice said. All face possible deportation.

The arrests came after an audit of the company's employment records, focusing on its I-9 forms, Kice said. The forms, required for every employee of a company, document citizenship or employment status.

Jim Hall, owner of Northwest Health Care Linen, said all of his 90 employees pay taxes and had completed I-9 forms. The company, which supplies linens for hospitals throughout Puget Sound, was shut down for two hours as armed agents in bulletproof vests interviewed workers, he said.
However, Hall questioned the need for Wednesday's operation. He said the agent investigating his business promised to give him a list of employees with questionable documents within 60 days. Instead, agents raided the business, which Hall described as an "extremely emotional event" that could have been avoided.

"It was just too bad that it was handled this way," he said. "It sure leaves a lot of questions for Whatcom County with what Homeland Security is doing."

Kice declined to comment on Hall's allegation. She said an investigation into the business was ongoing. Hall and his business could be fined if agents prove he knowingly hired undocumented workers.

"We see this as a very important part to restore the integrity to our nation's immigration system," Kice said. "We need to ensure people who are coming here are who they say they are."


Reach Jon Gambrell at jon.gam brell@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2263.