Nine illegal immigrants arrested in Nesquehoning

They worked for Hazleton contractor on roof repairs after storm.
By Chris Parker | Of The Morning Call chris.parker@mcall.com

October 26, 2007

http://www.mcall.com

Nine illegal immigrants working for a Hazleton contractor were arrested in Nesquehoning after the borough police chief became suspicious of pickup trucks with Texas license plates at a local convenience store, officials said.

Police Chief Sean Smith said he contacted the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Philadelphia after he tried to talk with the men but they apparently didn't speak English, tried to walk away from him and ignored him when he asked for identification.

An immigration agent interviewed the nine men Saturday and determined they were illegal immigrants, Smith said.

He said a man who was with them and spoke English, Sergio Tervino, a United States citizen, told him they were working for Castle Roofing, an Ohio company with an office in Hazleton, doing hail damage roof repairs. They had moved into Nesquehoning four days earlier.

Castle Roofing salesman Keith Wiglesworth said Thursday the men had been hired by a subcontractor working for the company to help repair damage from an Aug. 17 hail storm that pocked roofs.

''Everybody that works for us is supposed to be legal,'' Wiglesworth said. ''Everybody that we write checks to has a 1099 [tax form] and a Social Security number. We do not hire illegals.''

The company opened a branch in Hazleton after the hail storm, he said. There was so much work that some of the company's subcontractors hired extra hands.

''It's a shame; they're just trying to make a living,'' Wiglesworth said. ''But if you want to work, you've got to be legal.''

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who has said he believes illegal immigrants are bringing in crime and eroding the city's quality of life, last year initiated an ordinance that made it a crime to rent to or hire them.

A federal judge recently struck down the law, which was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union as unconstitutional. The city is appealing the ruling.

The nine illegal immigrants caught in Nesquehoning were living with Tervino, 19, who had listed only himself on the moving permit required by the borough, Smith said.

Smith gave this account of the Saturday incident:

Smith was on patrol when he saw the truck at Turkey Hill Minit Market on Route 209.

When he stopped, the driver, who was later identified as Tervino, and his four passengers walked away from him, ignoring Smith as he asked the driver for identification or his driver's license.

Smith followed the men inside the store and asked again. Tervino, Smith said, could not produce identification.

The four other men did not speak English and also did not have identification.

Smith asked all five to step outside. Tervino, it turned out, could speak English and Smith found out he is a United States citizen.

As Smith spoke with the men, a second pickup truck with Texas plates pulled into the parking lot. Five more men that Smith described as Hispanic got out and walked toward the store.

Smith said he approached the driver of that truck and asked for a license, but the man could not produce one.

Tervino told Smith they were all together and that a third truck was expected; it never arrived.

The federal agent told Smith to keep the men in custody until U.S. Customs issued detainers and they could be placed in prison until they were deported. Smith got the paperwork, and all nine were placed in Carbon County Prison to await deportation.

Seven of the men are from Mexico and two from Honduras.