Sun Valley layoffs part of wider scrutiny?
Ryan Burns/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 06/12/2008 01:31:19 AM PDT

This week's termination of 283 employees at Sun Valley Floral Farms could be just the first step in a larger investigation into the company's hiring practices, according to a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Monday's firings were prompted by a hand-delivered letter from ICE informing Sun Valley that more than half of its workforce had invalid identification numbers and were therefore ineligible to work in the United States. Sun Valley had submitted all employees' I-9 documents at ICE's request in November, but heard nothing further until the letter's arrival.

While declining to comment on the specifics of the Sun Valley case because no “public action has yet been taken,â€