Thread: Agents arrest illegal workers at construction site

November 17, 2006

Agents arrest illegal workers at construction site

By DEREK L. KINNER
Staff Writer

PALM COAST -- Three illegal immigrants are facing possible 25-year prison terms and 37 others could be on their way home after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents raided the Ocean Towers construction site this week.

Immigration spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said the 40 people arrested are from Honduras, Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico and Peru. They were working for two subcontractors: Owen Electric Co. Inc. of St. Augustine and Weston Coatings of Daytona Beach, Gonzalez said. Agents still were investigating the case Thursday, she said.

"All facets of the incident are being evaluated," Gonzalez said. "In general, if a company knowingly hires an illegal alien, they are subject to criminal prosecution."

The three men facing possible prison terms -- Andres Melgar, Julian Nieto and Cesar Quintanilla, all of Honduras -- were charged with felonies because they returned to the U.S. after being deported, officials said.

Gonzalez said the other 37 cases will be handled administratively, with the people going before a judge who will decide whether they should be deported. Those kinds of cases can take as little as a few weeks to as long as years, she said.

"Companies that use cheap, illegal alien labor as a business model should be on notice," said Robert W. Weber, ICE special agent-in-charge in Tampa.


The illegal immigrants were working on phases 3 and 4 of the Ocean Towers at 3 Ocean Crest Drive at Hammock Beach near Palm Coast. Bill Knox, project manager for the contractor, ACI Construction Services, said his company has nothing to do with hiring subcontractors' employees.

"The burden is on the subcontractor to make sure they're hiring legal residents," Knox said.

Knox said the arrests Tuesday slowed work only temporarily.

"It was a minor speed bump," he said. "They (subcontractors) have already brought in people from other places to take care of what took place."

Diego Handel, an attorney with the Daytona Beach law firm Glasser & Handel, said use of illegal immigrants in Florida is "widespread" for several reasons.

"I think it's more of the fact that you hear a lot of employers complain in Florida that it's very tough to get good workers willing to work," Handel said. "They (illegal immigrants) come from a country where they can barely eke out a living. They show up, do good work, sometimes get paid less than those who may have papers. Sometimes, they (employers) pay them more than they would a U.S. citizen."

He said Florida is a popular destination because of rapid growth. "Florida's booming. There's jobs all over the place, so people come," he said.

Part of Handel's practice is representing people in immigration cases.

"I think that to treat someone as a so-called criminal because they're trying to work, something about it doesn't seem fair," Handel said.


Handel said construction industry employers find workers, including illegal immigrants , in various ways, including through employment agencies, labor pools and word of mouth.

derek.kinner@news-jrnl.com

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJ ... 111706.htm

The three men facing possible prison terms -- Andres Melgar, Julian Nieto and Cesar Quintanilla, all of Honduras -- were charged with felonies because they returned to the U.S. after being deported, officials said.

Part of Handel's practice is representing people in immigration cases.

"I think that to treat someone as a so-called criminal because they're trying to work, something about it doesn't seem fair," Handel said.

Oh---so open violation resulting in felonious behavior is condoned and encouraged by the attorney representing the defendants? Would it be fair to be disbarred from practicing law in Florida for aiding and abetting felonious behavior?

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And Americans want to know why the minimum wage is being pulled down?

http://hr.cch.com/news/hrm/112406a.asp

CCH® HR MANAGEMENT — 11/24/06
ICE arrests 40 undocumented workers at Palm Coast construction site
Forty undocumented workers working at a construction site were arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents on November 14, 2006, announced ICE. Created in March 2003, ICE is the largest investigative branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agency was created after 9/11, by combining the law enforcement arms of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the former US Customs Service, to more effectively enforce US immigration and customs laws.

The undocumented workers, all men, were employed by various sub-contracting companies working at an Ocean Towers construction site located on 3 Ocean Crest Drive, Palm Coast, Florida. Three of those arrested re-entered the country after being deported. Re-entry after deportation is a prosecutable felony offense that carries a possible 25-year prison sentence. All three cases have been accepted by the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida. The three men are in US Marshals custody awaiting the outcome of their criminal cases. The remaining 37 men were placed in removal proceedings for being in violation of US immigration laws. All were transferred to various ICE facilities in Florida. Those arrested represent the following countries: Honduras, Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico and Peru.

"Companies that use cheap, illegal alien labor as a business model should be on notice," said Robert W. Weber, special agent-in-charge in Tampa, Florida. "ICE is dramatically enhancing its enforcement efforts against illegal employment schemes." This enforcement action was part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan launched by DHS to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, DHS seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. SBI also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement investigations and intensified efforts to track down and remove undocumented workers inside the country.

For additional information on this and other HR topics, consult CCH Human Resources Management or Personnel Practices/Communications.

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Cool, this made it onto a business and corporate law information services web site.