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Police find suspected illegal immigrants
Friday, June 16, 2006
BY JOHN BEAUGE
For The Patriot-News
SHAMOKIN - More than a dozen suspected illegal immigrants were discovered Wednesday but not detained at a strip mall construction site, authorities said.

None of the 18 Spanish-speaking laborers could be detained because the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency did not have agents available to go to the scene, and other law enforcement agencies did not have jurisdiction, District Attorney Anthony J. Rosini said.

The raid was conducted after Rep. Robert E. Belfanti Jr., D-Mount Carmel, received a tip of possible child labor law violations at the site in Coal Twp., Rosini said.

About two dozen workers laying blocks jumped from scaffolding and ran into the woods when officers arrived at the site along Route 61 south of Shamokin, Rosini said. Ten of the 18 who were caught did not have identification papers, he said. They included two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old.

Rosini said the workers told investigators they were not paid overtime and taxes were not deducted from their pay. Their employer, an Ohio firm that was a subcontractor, was ordered off the site, he said.

Bill Riley, an ICE official in Philadelphia, said local and state authorities are not permitted to detain suspected illegal immigrants, but the information gathered could be used in an investigation of their employer.

State Labor and Industry officials are investigating child labor, minimum wage or overtime law violations at the site, spokesman Barry Ciccocioppo said.