Vehicle registration sting catches illegal immigrants at refinery
By GREG TUTTLE
Of The Gazette Staff

An effort to crack down on refinery workers in Laurel accused of ignoring state vehicle registration requirements also netted several allegedly illegal immigrants.

Nine people were arrested for immigration violations Monday evening as they were leaving work at the CHS refinery, a spokesman for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said. The nine workers remained in custody at the Jefferson County jail and the Yellowstone County jail on Tuesday and could eventually face deportation.

At least nine citations also were issued to workers who had not registered their vehicles in Montana, said a Montana Highway Patrol officer involved in the unusual sting operation.

State law requires anyone working in Montana to register his or her vehicle, said Patrol Sgt. Scott Ayers. The "gainful registration" requirement has no grace period and applies to anyone who works in the state, he said. The sting operation was conducted between 5 and 8 p.m. Monday evening and included six Highway Patrol troopers and several Yellowstone County sheriff's deputies stationed at the exit of an employee parking lot. A federal agent was also at the scene to take custody of immigration detainees.

Messages left Tuesday at the Sheriff's Office were not returned.

Ayers said the operation was conducted after numerous complaints were made to local law enforcement about the large number of out-of-state licenses on vehicles coming and going from the CHS refinery. The refinery has been involved in several multimillion-dollar upgrades in recent years.

Ayers said the refinery management was contacted about two weeks ago and was asked to remind workers of the vehicle registration laws. The sting operation was then conducted.

"We asked for compliance several times before we went out there," he said.

MHP officers stopped 21 vehicles exiting the parking lot with out-of-state license plates. Nine gainful-registration citations were issued and 12 warnings were issued for the same offense, Ayers said. One citation was issued for a driver with no insurance, and one warning was issued for a light violation, he said.

County deputies also issued a number of citations and warnings.

Workers who could not provide proper immigration documents were turned over to the federal agent.

Pat Kimmett, manager of the CHS refinery, said the company informed workers about the vehicle registration requirements and issued a subsequent warning after being contacted recently by law enforcement. He said the workers, which have ranged in number from several hundred to 2,400, are employed by dozens of contractors who are involved in various stages of a construction project at the site.

"We do not check all the paperwork," Kimmett said. "It's the responsibility of the contractor."

The building contractors are required by contract to adhere to all government rules and regulations, Kimmett said.

Contractors whose employees were arrested Monday on immigration violations have since reported that the workers had filed proper documents before they were hired, Kimmett said. CHS has also asked all of the contractors to check the employment records of their employees, he said.

Ayers said that during the operation, several refinery employees told officers that numerous workers appeared to be fleeing the refinery grounds by scaling a fence on the south side of the property and running into fields. Ayers drove through the area in the dark but could not locate anyone, he said.

"I have to surmise they were undocumented workers," he said.

It was unclear Tuesday what fate awaits those refinery workers taken into custody and held in the county jails.

Jessica Fehr, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Billings, said she could neither confirm nor deny that an investigation was being conducted as a result of the law enforcement activity at the refinery.

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman in Dallas, for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within Homeland Security, confirmed Tuesday that nine illegal immigrants were arrested at the refinery. Six of the those arrested are being held in the Jefferson County jail and three are held at the Yellowstone County jail. The federal agency contracts with numerous local jail facilities across the country to hold immigration detainees, he said.

If any of those arrested at CHS are from Mexico and have no criminal record, they may be given the opportunity to voluntarily return to that country, Rusnok said. Deportation steps would begin for those who come from a country other than Mexico or who have a criminal record, he said. Anyone slated for deportation can appear before a federal judge to make a case for staying in the country.

It was unclear Tuesday how often such immigration cases involving numerous arrests at one company happen in Montana, but Rusnok said the case highlights the need for enforcement across the country.

"The problem of illegal immigration is a problem in all 50 states," he said.
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