Thread: More illegal aliens arrested

http://www.whitefishpilot.com/articles/ ... news03.txt

More illegal aliens arrested

By RICHARD HANNERS
Whitefish Pilot
Twelve suspected illegal aliens were arrested March 12 at an apartment complex on Lupfer Avenue, behind the VFW Club. The arrests come during a week of nationwide protests and demonstrations by immigrants concerned about stricter laws governing aliens and their employers.

Whitefish Police Detective Roger Bergstrom said members of the Northwest Drug Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the state Division of Criminal Investigation went to the apartment to serve a felony warrant on a Mexican.

The person they were looking for wasn't there, but 12 other Mexicans were, Bergstrom said. The 12 were sharing an apartment designed for three, he said.

The 12 Mexicans lacked documents showing they were allowed to work in the U.S., and they admitted to Spanish-speaking agents that they were illegal aliens, Bergstrom said. They were all employed by Washington-based Storm Construction, which is building the Monterra condominium complex on Highway 40, he said.

When built out, the Monterra will have 16 three-story buildings with condominiums ranging from studios to three-bedrooms in size, costing from $200,000 to $400,000 per unit. Monterra's 6,000-square-foot clubhouse facility will have an exercise room, swimming pool, 20-seat movie theater, tennis courts and a half-acre pond.

This is the third case in six months of illegal aliens being arrested at the Monterra construction site. On Sept. 27, 2005, ICE special agents interviewed seven Mexican nationals at the construction site after the agents received a tip about illegal aliens working on a framing crew.

One of the seven, Jose Rodolfo Mayallan-Martinez, 28, was sentenced Feb. 23 to 41 months in prison. He had been previously deported from the U.S. as a criminal-aggravated felon after being convicted for unlawful delivery of cocaine.

On Feb. 1, ICE officers arrested seven more illegal immigrants at the Monterra construction site after Whitefish police followed up on a report about shoplifting at Mike's Conoco on Jan. 31.

Bergstrom said Storm Construction is a subcontractor at Monterra. He said it's difficult to enforce laws already on the books that make hiring illegal aliens a crime.

Bergstrom noted that much of the work done several years ago on the Iron Horse golf course and on rock retaining walls along the roads in the exclusive subdivision was done by Mexicans. He said Border Patrol agents made numerous arrests of undocumented aliens while Iron Horse was being constructed.

The arrests coincide with nationwide protests by Hispanic, Asian and other recent legal and illegal immigrants. Large numbers went to the streets in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas and even Georgia to protest a House bill passed in December that would impose criminal sanctions on both illegal aliens and the companies that illegally hire them.

The federal government estimates 11 million undocumented aliens are in the U.S. Proponents of stricter laws also want more security along the U.S.-Mexican border.

According to the Government Accountability Office, which serves Congress, the number of arrests of illegal aliens in the U.S. dropped 83 percent from 2,849 in fiscal year 1999 to 485 in fiscal year 2003.

The GAO also reported that the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued 427 "notices of intent to fine" against companies that hired illegal aliens in 1999. In 2004, ICE, which is the successor to INS, issued three notices in 2004.

This is the third case in six months of illegal aliens being arrested at the Monterra construction site. On Sept. 27, 2005, ICE special agents interviewed seven Mexican nationals at the construction site after the agents received a tip about illegal aliens working on a framing crew.

You notice that nowhere in the article, does it say that this employer was prosecuted for hiring illegal aliens, even though they've been busted 3 times in the last 6 months. How pitiful.

Do you think they would actually disclose if there was an ongoing investigation relating to the employer? This latest incident just took place, trust me, it's being looked into. These arrests actually took place on March 28. http://www.missoulanews.com/News/News.asp?no=5623

I wouldn't be surprised if they start getting jobs as airline pilots soon.