Posted on 04/04/2004 2:38:55 PM PDT by 4.1O dana super trac pak
Officials in Pittston Township said Thursday the T.J. Maxx Distribution Center in the township still employs immigrants who are illegally in the United States.
Township Supervisor Anthony Attardo, speaking at a news conference called by a state attorney general candidate, claimed the company had even more illegal workers now than it did last fall, when federal immigration officials determined 274 undocumented workers - about half the workforce - were employed there.
"My sources tell me it's worse than it ever was," said Attardo.
Bill Riley, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Philadelphia, said he could not comment on whether his agency was investigating T.J. Maxx.
Several attempts to reach company spokeswoman Sherry Lang of the T.J. Maxx parent parent firm, The TJX Companies, Framingham, Mass, were unsuccessful.
Last fall, township officials had called in the agency to investigate because of suspicions about undocumented Hispanic immigrants working at the center, which had just earlier in the year. The township supervisors earlier had complained the company was starting workers at $6.50 an hour after promising starting wages of $8 to $10 an hour.
Riley said some undocumented workers left after the bureau sent the company a letter stating inspectors found innaccurate information on paperwork for the 274 workers. He said if the company continued to employ the undocumented workers, the company would face a fine.
Northampton County District Attorney John M. Morganelli, a Democratic candidate for state attorney general who frequently speaks against illegal immigration, said he held the news conference in Pittston Township because of the officials' concerns about illegal immigrants.
"Illegal aliens take jobs away from Americans," Township Supervisor Chairman John Paglianite said.
These major companies like T.J. Maxx are arrogant," Morganelli said. "They want the benefits of cheap labor."
He said that as attorney general, he would lobby for passage of the CLEAR bill in Congress, which would empower state and local police to arrest and detain immigrants solely on illegal immigration status.
Morganelli said the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the number of illegal aliens in Pennsylvania between 100,000 and 200,000.
| Rank | Location | Receipts | Donors/Avg | Freepers/Avg | Monthlies | |||
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| 46 | Rhode Island | 40.00 |
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