Immigration charges soar for employers

July 22, 2006






WASHINGTON -- The number of employers arrested on charges of hiring illegal immigrants has more than doubled this year. And some employers themselves are in the country illegally, immigration officials say.

With cases this week in Arkansas, Kentucky and Ohio, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 445 people on criminal charges and has picked up an additional 2,700 people. In 2005, there were 176 arrests on criminal charges and 1,116 on immigration violations, ICE said.

The enforcement is intended to demonstrate the risk of ignoring the law in pursuit of cheap labor.

The largest raid to date was in April. Federal agents arrested seven current and former managers of IFCO Systems, on criminal charges, and more than 1,100 people were arrested on administrative immigration charges. AP
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