Scranton company pays fine for employing illegal immigrants
By Joe McDonald (Staff Writer)
Published: November 6, 2009


A Scranton manufacturing plant that employed more than 50 illegal immigrants two years ago has agreed to take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again, according to a court order filed Friday in federal court.

North American Manufacturing Inc., 1075 Barring Ave., also agreed to pay $40,000 to promote "future law enforcement programs" by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a consent decree and court order signed by U.S. District Judge James M. Munley, the plant was "permanently enjoined from knowingly hiring, recruiting and continuing to employ aliens who are not legally authorized to work within the U.S."

In 2007, I.C.E. agents arrested 52 workers from Mexico, Honduras and Uruguay at the plant, which is near Memorial Stadium.

Plant manager Joseph Wechsler said the company was unaware they were in the country illegally because they had shown identification papers saying they were legal.

"They were the ones who were committing the crime, using false identification," Mr. Wechsler said. Mr. Wechsler said the company "never knowingly" hired illegal aliens.

Prior to 2007, Mr. Wechsler said employers were not allowed to run electronic verification checks on anyone who was already on the payroll.

"Anyone hired previous to that, all we had was two forms of identification," he said.

Now, he said, everyone applying for a job at the plant undergoes an electronic verification check that instantly determines if the job applicant has legally valid identification, not bogus papers.

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