Thread: Immigration agents arrest 114 in sting at Ohio landscaper

Immigration agents arrest 114 in sting at Ohio landscaper

John Minchillo and Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
Associated Press June 5, 2018


SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) -- U.S. immigration agents made more than 100 arrests Tuesday at a gardening and landscaping company, aided by about 200 law enforcement workers in one of the largest employer stings in recent years.

The 114 arrests occurred at two locations of Corso's Flower & Garden Center, one in Sandusky, a resort city on Lake Erie, and another in nearby Castalia. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it expected criminal charges including identity theft and tax evasion.

No criminal charges have been filed against Corso's, but the employer is under investigation, authorities said. Two locations were searched, and Khaalid Walls, an agency spokesman, said "a large volume of business documents" were seized.

The large-scale operation, assisted by aerial surveillance, is part of the Trump administration's increasing focus on employers that hire people in the country illegally, one that took hold about a year after the president took office, and came months after a surge in deportation arrests began.

In April, agents made about 100 worker arrests at a meatpacking plant in rural Tennessee, another high-profile show of force reminiscent of President George W. Bush's administration. No criminal charges have been filed against the employer.

Tuesday's operation was carried out with quiet efficiency. At the Castalia facility — covered with trees, flowers and greenhouse tarps — no workers were seen running as about 100 law enforcement officials established a perimeter. A voice on a radio called attention to specific employees who might try to flee, but none did.

Corso's did not return a message seeking comment on the operation.

Corso's describes itself as a family-owned company that serves seven states with a 160,000-square-foot (15,000-square-meter) greenhouse and additional 200,000 square feet (19,000 square meters) to grow perennials. Its Sandusky facility is on the city's busiest road amid hotels and fast-food joints that cater to tourists who drive by in the summer on their way to Lake Erie and Cedar Point amusement park.

Securing such sprawling facilities typically involves an enormous law enforcement presence to secure the perimeters.

Josie Gonzalez, a Los Angeles attorney who represents businesses on immigration matters, questioned why the arrests couldn't have been made with fewer resources, perhaps by visiting worker homes based on addresses Corso's provided to authorities. She suspects the government wanted publicity.

"Government is overreaching and trying to make a big splash, instill fear in the business community and immigrant communities and make the headlines," she said. "It's a tremendous use of resources to accomplish that purpose."

The investigation into Corso's began in October 2017 when the U.S. Border Patrol arrested a woman who gave stolen identity documents to job applicants in the country illegally, said Steve Francis, head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit in Detroit.

The document vendor led investigators to the landscaping company, where they examined documents in its files for irregularities, Francis said. Some Social Security numbers belonged to dead people.

Of the 313 employees whose records were examined, 123 were found suspicious and targeted for arrest and criminal charges of identity theft and, in nearly all cases, tax evasion.

"We verified that a lot of U.S. persons were obviously unaware of this. It's caused them a lot of hardship," Francis said. "It's not one that we're looking for strictly as a worksite immigration raid."

Immigration officials have sharply increased audits of companies to verify their employees are authorized to work in the country. There were 2,282 employer audits opened between Oct. 1 and May 4, nearly a 60 percent jump from the 1,360 audits opened between October 2016 and September 2017. Many of those reviews were launched after audits began at 100 7-Eleven franchises in 17 states in January.

The crackdown is likely to please immigration hawks among Trump's supporters but may alienate industries and companies that rely on immigrants in tight labor markets.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/immig...140227951.html

OH - Immigration agents arrest 114 in sting at Ohio landscaper

HEAR THAT KIDS...SUMMER JOBS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!!!

The crackdown is likely to please immigration hawks among Trump's supporters

You're damn skippy I'm pleased. This is the kind of places we should be hitting hard and frequently. However, the owner and anyone else in the company responsible for knowingly hiring the illegals need to be punished to the full extent that law provides!

Corso's Flower and Garden Center
www.corsos.com/
A family-owned company committed to the highest level of quality and integrity. Discover more about our greenhouse, flower shop, garden center, landscape ...‎Garden Center · ‎We're Hiring · ‎Florist · ‎In The Greenhouse

There's a big family landscaping enterprise here----where a family with seven sons started franchises. Really big, and there were always a lot of folks that sure looked like illegal aliens working from the branch that I typically drove past. I don't know if they have curtailed their business or not. Construction is booming around here. I have often reported illegal contractors to the state board---because those typically are the ones that also have illegal aliens. They are cutting too many corners! And the big contractors subcontract to smaller firms using illegals. I wish more people would do this.

US immigration agents double number of workplace raids, spreading fear and tearing fa

Don't TEAR YOU OWN FAMILY APART...take them all with you!

Hit the road!

Best to sell out, pack up and go home or get arrested and deported with nothing!

We have an unbelievable number of people moving into the area---many of them Californians cashing out and getting out, but other states, too. Construction projects, everywhere. Just a block away there is a crew----they all look like illegals---getting a foundation ready. Trying to find something on the company---but it looks like their state registration is in order, and the state board doesn't check immigration status. They only enforce things pertaining to business registration, classification and general employment laws. There are probably a number of phony documents---but that would not be something the contractors board enforces.

It's not just liberal groups striving to keep illegals here. There are a lot of these small construction businesses and other money makers that take advantage of the cheap labor. This is increasing exponentially: More people moving into the area, more demand, but also more small companies looking for a cheaper solution. If I figure out a way to call the authorities I will----the only possible one at this point is ICE.

Too bad their wasn't a way to scan their license plates and submit them to ICE

We may need a "app" for that to report them!