Thread: HI-22 illegal workers arrested in Honokowai

22 illegal workers arrested in Honokowai
Federal agents, police temporarily shut down condo construction site

By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer POSTED: August 22, 2008 Save | Print |


Twenty-two illegal immigrants were arrested Wednesday at a Honokowai construction site, which was shut down for a few hours as federal agents and police barricaded and searched the project.

The arrests occurred at the Honua Kai job site as part of an investigation that targeted employer Global Stone Inc., said Lori Haley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said those arrested were employed by the company and working at the job site.

Two high-rise buildings are being constructed at the condominium project on Lower Honoapiilani Road. The general contractor on the project, Ledcor Construction, issued a statement Thursday saying none of the detained workers were employed by Ledcor but saying it knows individuals were arrested.

"None of the workers are employees of Ledcor," company Vice President Eric Tessem said in a written statement. "Ledcor requires all of its subcontractors to abide by immigration laws and we received assurances from the subcontractors that they were in compliance with all federal, state and local laws."

Tessem was not available to respond to questions about the status of the subcontractor involved.

Haley said those arrested included one woman and 21 men who are in the country illegally. She said 15 people, including the woman, are Mexican nationals, four are Brazilian, one is Guatemalan, one is Honduran and one is Peruvian. All were taken into federal custody and initially transported to Honolulu to be processed for removal from the country, Haley said.

A worker who was at the job site Wednesday said more than a dozen federal agents and Maui police officers showed up, barricading gates and surrounding one building that's under construction.

When they saw the officers, "all of a sudden, all the immigrants ran like bats out of hell," said the worker, who asked not to be identified. Some ran toward the beach and others tried to hide. The job site was evacuated while agents searched the building, the worker said.

He said those arrested included some employees of a landscaping company and some marble company workers, all of them nonunion and Spanish-speaking.

While work at the construction site resumed Thursday, "the job is very quiet," the man said.

Haley said the federal investigation is continuing.

"ICE targets companies and employers who may be knowingly hiring illegal aliens," she said. "At this point, the arrests were just of the employees who were working there illegally."

The U.S. Attorney for Hawaii, Ed Kubo, has scheduled a press conference in Honolulu at 11 a.m. today regarding "the recent arrests of undocumented alien workers."

In his statement, Tessem said while a majority of Ledcor's subcontractors do abide by the law, "it is unfortunate that a very small minority sometimes fails to ensure that all of their employees are legally eligible to work in the United States.

"Ledcor supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to solve this national problem," he said.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto @mauinews.com.



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When they saw the officers, "all of a sudden, all the immigrants ran like bats out of hell," said the worker, who asked not to be identified. Some ran toward the beach and others tried to hide.

Why aren't they charged with resisting arrest, fleeing from law enforcement and obstruction of law enforcement when they run and try to hide?

"Ledcor requires all of its subcontractors to abide by immigration laws and we received assurances from the subcontractors that they were in compliance with all federal, state and local laws."

What sort of assurances? Just a yeah, of course, or something in writing?

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