N.C.: U.S. agency silent on raid

August 25, 2008


U.S. agency silent on raid

But officials say immigration enforcement is on increase

Doug Abrahms

The recent immigration raid at Mills Manufacturing Corp. was part of stepped up enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, although the agency won't say why it targeted the Asheville company.

The agency focuses on immigration enforcement at airports, defense contractors and other businesses it considers critical infrastructure, as well as rooting out criminal illegal immigrants, said Richard Rocha, an ICE spokesman in Washington. He declined to comment on the reasons behind the Mills raid.

Because ICE can only investigate a small fraction of U.S. businesses, the pattern is not so clear, according to immigration experts.

The agency seems to be investigating work sites in industries with large concentrations of illegal immigrants where document fraud, employer collusion or other crimes might be involved, said Steve Camarota, research director at Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors stronger immigration enforcement. The agency has targeted companies across the U.S., he said.

"The problem is scattered across the whole country," Camarota said. "They're looking for cases that are not just run-of-the-mill, five illegal aliens employed by Joe's construction company."

ICE arrested 57 workers for using fraudulent documents to obtain jobs on Aug. 12 at Mills, which makes parachutes for the Defense Department. The company employed about 175 before the raid.

ICE has stepped up workplace raids, and administrative arrests of workers that usually result in deportation jumped from 445 in 2003 to 4,077 last year. Its workplace raids have been scattered around the U.S. across various industries.

In the last two months of work site raids, ICE arrested:


42 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.


58 at a chain of Mexican restaurants in Ohio.


18 at a Colorado concrete plant.


43 at an agricultural business in Hawaii.

ICE has limited resources and can only go after a small slice of illegal workers, said Matt Nerzig, a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, which opposes most work site raids.

"What troubles us is they seem to do inordinate targeting of those who are working rather than those who are making trouble," Nerzig said. "Why aren't they targeting the undocumented (workers) that pose a real risk to all us?"

ICE told Mills' executives that it was targeted because it was a government contractor, said John Oswald, chief executive at Mills.

The company cooperated with federal officials and wasn't charged because it had collected all the necessary documents on workers, he said.

"National defense was not in jeopardy because of the identity fraud that was perpetrated here," said Oswald, who is working to hire employees.

"We don't focus on any specific industry, regardless of its size or type or location," Rocha said. "We hope to encourage a culture of corporate compliance."

Increased raids lead to more workplace compliance, similar to traffic slowing down on a highway after seeing a motorist receiving a ticket, Camarota said.

The Center for Immigration Studies released a report in July saying the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has dropped in the past 12 months because of a slower economy and stepped-up immigration enforcement by local and federal officials.

"The goal is not to deport every illegal alien," he said. "The goal is to make employers and illegal aliens realize that the possibility of enforcement is real (and) that the immigration law is back in business."

But there's no evidence to prove that raids have lowered the number of illegal workers in the U.S., said Michele Waslin, senior policiy analyst at the Immigration Policy Center, which supports immigrants' rights.

Besides separating family members and causing economic harm to communities, work site raids accomplish very little, she said.

"(The Bush administration) has looked very tough but not had a very dramatic impact on the undocumented workers in the United States," Waslin said.

"The fact remains we have bad laws and enforcing bad laws is not the solution."

www.citizen-times.com

With tens of million in this country hear illegally these numbers of arrest just don't seem like they would have any impact on the problem. That many illegals probably cross the border every day,probably more! Our politicians need to untie the Ice agents and border patrol hands so they can have real crackdowns. I wonder how much those few raids cost the tax payer?

They cost millions of dollars EACH...I have to wonder why ICE doesn't send in 2 agents to arrest the "big dogs" in the company instead of gathering dozens of agents from all over the country to conduct these raids...at tax payer expense, of course!

Could it be neither the Reps. or Dems. want to upset LaRaza and the other radical organizations...imcluding America's own Chamber of Commerce and we must not forget the catholic church

When you count the number of illegal aliens in this country at about 38 million, they arrest a few hundred at a time, and let half of them go for humanitarian reasons - (females that have children at home) they are doing nothing to correct the problem.  They need to round them up and send them home, and that would include their children!  After all I believe families should stay together!  What they are doing is to pacify the American citizens so they looks like they are doing something about it.  In reality they are doing very little, if it even counts.  I know I don't want them to just go after the employed illegals, I want them to go after the unemployed illegals as well as all of the criminals!  They also dam* well need to do something with the employers that are hiring these people! They are the root of the problem!  You've got to get rid of the weeds to grow a beautiful lawn!

I figure it is just a PR thing to calm us down FR! Do you really think they are cracking down when there are millions of illegals but the numbers of arrest are in the hundreds. Thats like my dog chasing his tail,he never gets anywhere!

"What troubles us is they seem to do inordinate targeting of those who are working rather than those who are making trouble," Nerzig said. "Why aren't they targeting the undocumented (workers) that pose a real risk to all us?"

hey moron...it's called "sanctuary cities".  the cops are not allowed to do their job and get rid of the troublemakers, who,by the way, usually don't belong to your union, or even hold a (full time)job. for that you can thank the democrat politicians that you support.