Audit Shows Illegal Workers Hired

signonsandiego.com ^ | 4-15-05 | Leslie Berestein

[onyx]

Lack of penalties on employers seen as incentive

By Leslie Berestein

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

April 15, 2005

EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune

ID badges, some with access to the 32nd Street naval station, were taken from people working in the U.S. illegally.

In what immigration officials are calling the most widespread hiring of unauthorized workers by a local employer in years, 86 people have been found to be working illegally for a San Diego military contractor, more than half the company's 167-person work force.

The unauthorized workers were discovered during a federal audit of Naval Coating Inc., a contracting company that paints and sandblasts U.S. Navy and commercial ships. In keeping with the recent trend in work-site enforcement, the employer faces no immediate criminal or civil penalties, although an investigation is pending.

Eighteen Naval Coating employees, all in the country illegally, were arrested in their homes early yesterday morning by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Two of them, including one who had a drug smuggling conviction, had been deported before. Thirteen undocumented immigrants found living with the workers were also arrested.
The rest of the unauthorized workers are being sought. Most had clearance to enter the U.S. Naval Station at 32nd Street, as well as shipyards they were sent to that contract with the military.

ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack said that while other work-site enforcement actions in recent years have netted more arrests – 31 unauthorized employees of Continental Marine were arrested a year ago – the Naval Coating audit unearthed the greatest number of employees found working illegally for a local company in at least five years.

All of the 86 unauthorized workers had presented counterfeit driver licenses, state-issued identification cards, Social Security cards or green cards. Some of the documents had spelling and punctuation errors, Mack said.

Immigration laws require employers only to request identification from applicants, not to verify its authenticity. But the sheer number of unauthorized workers discovered at Naval Coating has raised a red flag, Mack said, warranting further investigation.

"Definitely, it is quite concerning to us that this company had such a large number of unauthorized workers," she said, adding that most had been with the company a year or less.

Yesterday afternoon, a receptionist at Naval Coating said that company president and owner James Kuvelas had instructed her to say "no comment."

The company was audited as part of Operation Safe Cities, a federal work-site inspection program that targets local businesses in industries deemed sensitive to national security breaches, such as military contractors and airports.

Since the program's inception in December 2003, more than 540 businesses in San Diego and Imperial counties have been audited, and more than 160 workers arrested.

But none of these workers has had ties to terrorism or came from nations designated by the federal government as "special interest" countries linked to terrorist activities. Of the 18 arrested yesterday, 17 are from Mexico and one is from Guatemala. All the detainees are expected to be returned to their native countries.

So far, none of the employers targeted under Safe Cities has been penalized. According to ICE, only two employers in the city of San Diego have been referred to the U.S. attorney for prosecution since 2000.

"The magnet continues to be there," said Joe Dassaro, president of Local 1613 of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents agents in the San Diego area. "(The employers) go back to the same practices because they are not penalized."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leslie Berestein: (619) 542-4579;

leslie.berestein@uniontrib.com

[Ben Ficklin]

Americans may do them where you live but they won't do them in Texas or southern California.

[Ben Ficklin]

Evidently, all the illegals had papers.

Generally, you would say that the illegals were doing the worst of the work or the gopher work. Those that were legal would be the painters and the supervisors.

[Colorado Buckeye]

I wonder how long it will be before we have Al Quaeda installing D5 warheads. I'm sure we could save a few bucks.

[Ben Ficklin]

Regarding the immigrant doctor, we allow many doctors into the country.

We allow a wide variation of workers with a wide variation of skills and earning capacity. These workers are worthy subjects of dicussion but are not germane to the problem of illegals.

This country need a large number of unskilled workers. The issue is how we get them.

[Ben Ficklin]

I suspect that have little awareness of what it is like elsewhere.

[Vigilanteman]

This country need a large number of unskilled workers. The issue is how we get them.

Why do we need a large number of unskilled workers? We're paying hordes of slack-jawed young males welfare to hang around in the 'hoods, go to drug rehab and impregnate slack-jawed young females to squeeze out crack babies. Give them the choice between doing the unskilled jobs "Americans are too lazy to do" or moving out of their gubmint subsidized flat.

And if we really needed a large number of unskilled workers (such as we did during World War II), then get them here legally and withhold a portion of their pay until they return home.

Or, have them line up a sponsor who will be financially liable if the decide to live off the gubmint teat or do crime. Do not let border crashers have the same rights as those who come here legally.

[Politicalmom]

Well, they have to be allowed to do some checks on the paperwork, then. As it stands, they can't question documents.

That is self-defeating.....but I am sure Congress loves it.

[LNewman]

Lo-o-o-ow bid! Time to review other bids received and rejected out of favor for this "special" group of workers.

[Tijuana Transplant]

Is, Before shooting off at the hip, you should have your facts straight. How do you ASSUME that the contractor did not pay taxes on those employees ? Also, to use the word "Criminal" someone has to commit a crime. A crime is defined as someone who "Knowingly" skirts the law. Did you read where ICE says the employees used false documents to be employes, and as for the mis-spelled docs, that person may have been deported a couple of times and had other documents made that were not the originals used to gain employment??? After all, the article said they had been employed for up to 1 year !!!
Just Some FOOD for thought !!!