Thread: Man suing O.C. company is held by immigration officials

Published: Nov. 16, 2010
Updated: 11:09 a.m.

Man suing O.C. company is held by immigration officials

By CINDY CARCAMO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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An Anaheim man faces deportation months after he and three others filed a lawsuit against a Fullerton-based employer that is under investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Osfel Andrade was still in immigration detention as of Tuesday morning after his arrest Wednesday at his Anaheim home.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents served a federal warrant at Terra Universal, a Fullerton manufacturing plant in June.

Andrade fled in June when ICE agents targeted his workplace Terra Universal, arresting 43 others suspected of working in the country illegally.

He is part of a federal class action lawsuit filed in August against Terra – a Fullerton company that designs, builds and equips laboratories. The suit claims that company officials violated the workers' labor and civil rights, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California officials said.

Terra Universal attorney David Ross has said the company followed the law.

"Terra has always treated its employees fairly and has paid top wages and unequivocally denies that it violated any laws regarding employee matters and any other matters,'' Ross said in an earlier interview.

Andrade’s attorney, Jennie Pasquarella, a staff attorney with the ACLU, said she believes her client was targeted by immigration officials because he spoke out against the company.

"By singling out and targeting one of four plaintiffs in this lawsuit, ICE sends a very clear and counterproductive message to immigrant workers: If you are a victim of exploitation, don't complain because you might be deported," Pasquarella said.

ICE officials have a different story. They say they approached Andrade because he's a component of an ongoing worksite investigation against Terra. ICE officials are investigating whether Terra knowingly hired workers who are not authorized to work in the country.

Identifying and locating individuals who have been illegally employed by businesses is crucial to developing evidence in these types of cases, said ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice.

“ICE Homeland Security Investigation’s priority in this instance, as it is in all worksite investigations, is on the conduct of the employer,â€

DEPORT THE ILLEGALS AND JAIL THE EMPLOYERS>SEnd the ACLU packing with the ILLEGALS

Illegal invaders sure know their way to the court house steps in this country! So much for "living in the shadows!"

Get the hell out of this country and don't come back!