12 alleged illegal immigrants held

Men arrested Monday worked in Pittsford for tile subcontractor
Victoria E. Freile
Staff writer

(June 22, 2007) — The 12 men arrested in Pittsford this week as illegal immigrants joined a list of more than 2,000 illegal immigrants who were discovered in upstate New York last year.

Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement — the largest investigative branch of the Department of Homeland Security — deported 2,186 people from upstate New York in 2006, said spokesman Michael Gilhooly. Nearly two-thirds of that total — 1,363 people — had criminal records in the United States before immigration officials caught up with them, Gilhooly said.

"It's not unusual to find illegal workers," he said. "We expect employers to follow the law. If a business knowingly hires illegals, that's a federal crime. However, we don't expect employers to be experts in that area."

Gilhooly, who is based in Williston, Vt., was not commenting about the local arrests, nor would he comment about whether additional arrests were expected. He said he did not believe federal officials had identified criminal records among those arrested here.

In the local case, the dozen men remain at a federal detention center in Batavia, Genesee County, awaiting immigration hearings, according to U.S. Border Patrol officials. Hearing dates have not been set.

The men, who were working to build a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Pittsford Plaza, were arrested around 3:30 a.m. Monday at the work site, said Patrol Agent Adrian Cotsworth.

Monroe County sheriff's deputies said someone spotted the men allegedly loading material into a van in a parking lot by the work site and contacted authorities, Cotsworth said. Upon investigation, deputies and agents determined that the men did not have documentation to work in the United States, he said.

Cotsworth would not release the names of the men, who range in age from 20 to 40. Eleven of the men were reportedly from Mexico and one was from Honduras, he said. None of the men spoke English.

The men apparently worked for Dynamic Ceramic Tile Inc., a subcontractor helping to build the restaurant, said sheriff's spokesman Cpl. John Helfer.

The men allegedly told patrol agents that they entered the country illegally, Cotsworth said. They were reportedly in the country between two months and seven years. Cotsworth said he was not able to determine where else the men were while in the country.

Border Patrol officials have referred the case to U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, which is investigating the immigrants' employment status.

Pittsford Supervisor Bill Carpenter said no one had contacted his office about the arrests.

Shawmut Design and Construction, the developer and general contractor of the Cheesecake Factory at Pittsford Plaza, has issued a statement regarding the incident:

"Shawmut policy requires that our subcontractors comply with all state and federal laws, and that they maintain documentation for this. Shawmut has worked with the subcontractor whose employees are in question on over 100 projects. They have assured us that the proper documentation is in place."

VFREILE@DemocratandChronicle.com

Includes reporting by staff writers Nicole Lee and Alan Morrell


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