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http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/051118frackville.htm
News Release
November 18, 2005
SEARCH WARRANTS ON FIVE COMPANIES UNSEALED TODAY IN OPERATION AT WAL-MART CENTER THAT NETTED 125 ALIENS
Five Subcontractors Searched for Evidence of Money Laundering & Harboring Illegal Aliens
FRACKVILLE, PA - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that federal search warrants and an affidavit were unsealed late this afternoon in connection with yesterday's arrest of 125 foreign nationals working illegally for five subcontracting companies on the construction site of a new Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Butler Township, Pennsylvania.
Yesterday morning, ICE agents and officials from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, and the Pennsylvania State Police executed federal search warrants on trailers belonging to five subcontracting companies and/or entities performing work at the Wal-Mart construction site. These companies are Destin Drywall & Paint Inc, Frazier Drywall, Jay-Ton Concrete, CS Construction Services, and Republic Refrigeration.
The search warrants, issued by a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, sought evidence of several potential violations, including money laundering as well as harboring, transporting, and encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States.
During the execution of the search warrants, federal agents apprehended 125 individuals shortly after they arrived to work at the construction site. The individuals arrested worked for the five subcontracting companies searched. Agents found that some of the illegal workers had used invalid, altered or falsified documents to illegally obtain employment.
ICE agents continue to investigate the entirety of the circumstances surrounding the employment of these illegal aliens. The investigation continues.
Those arrested were from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. All of those arrested were placed into removal proceedings. They will have an opportunity to have their deportation cases heard before an impartial immigration judge.
"Employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, and those who utilize false documents to gain employment face significant criminal and administrative charges," said John Kelleghan, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge for ICE in Pennsylvania. "ICE's goal is to restore integrity to the immigration system and keep our workplaces safe by ensuring that those who work there are who they say they are, and are not vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers."
The operation yesterday is a part of ICE's comprehensive strategy for worksite enforcement aimed at promoting national security, protecting critical infrastructure, and ensuring fair labor standards.
As part of this strategy, ICE agents focus on investigations involving egregious criminal employer violations and widespread abuses where ICE enforcement actions can send a strong deterrent message to other employers who knowingly employ illegal aliens. These traditional worksite enforcement cases often involve additional violations such as alien smuggling, alien harboring, document fraud, money laundering, fraud, or some form of worker exploitation.
-- ICE --
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http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/051117sandiego.htm
News Release
November 17, 2005
FEDERAL AGENTS IN SAN DIEGO INVESTIGATING CROSS BORDER TUNNEL NEAR OTAY MESA PORT
SAN DIEGO – Agents from a trio of federal agencies worked overnight and into today excavating a cross border tunnel discovered late yesterday near the Otay Mesa port of entry. The tunnel investigation is a coordinated effort involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
As of early this afternoon, agents determined the primitive passageway, which originated in Mexico, and extended about 90 feet into the United States, was not complete. Located about one fourth of a mile east of the commercial compound at the Otay Mesa border crossing, the tunnel is buried about three feet underground. Agents say it appears the tunnel builders were attempting to connect the passageway to the storm drain system. Authorities brought in heavy equipment to aid with the investigation and are now filling in the tunnel with cement.
In addition to the U.S. agencies, the Tijuana Municipal Police Department and Mexico’s federal police are assisting with the investigation on the Mexican side of the border.
“This represents another tremendous cooperative effort by all of the law enforcement agencies involved, including our counterparts in Mexico” said Michael Unzueta, the special agent-in-charge for ICE investigations in San Diego. “Our shared goal is to locate those associated with this criminal activity and dismantle their organization.”
No arrests have yet been made in the case, but the investigation is ongoing.
Since 9/11, federal authorities have discovered at least 16 cross border tunnels along the U.S.-Mexico border in California and Arizona.
-- ICE --
Thanks for these reports, Cindy. Its is great to hear some of the success stories.