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Illegal Aliens arrested while working at New York Airport

Eight years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the pre-Olympic, Salt Lake City Airport raid which resulted in 69 illegal aliens being indicted for document fraud and identity theft, illegal aliens continue to work at American airports.

The most recent arrests occurred at the Stewart International Airport in New York where 12 employees of Empire Warehouse Solutions were arrested.

Illegal aliens from Mexico, Peru, Chile, Guatemala and El Salvador were found to have used forged Social Security and “green” cards to obtain their jobs and security badges.

At the time the illegal aliens originally received their security badges, which was five years after the 9/11 attack on the United States, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was still not conducting immigration checks.

When the badges came up for renewal this year, immigration checks were conducted and about half of Empire Warehouse Solutions’ workers were found to be using fraudulent documents.

Empire Warehouse Services states that it complied with federal I-9 requirements at the time the illegal aliens were hired. However, the I-9 process has been referred to as a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” system since employers don't ask if the documents presented are valid and illegal aliens don't tell employers that the documents they are using are fraudulent.

The illegal workers were charged with falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing. In addition, if the workers completed I-9 forms using their false documents, they would have committed perjury and are subject to fine and imprisonment under federal law.

Empire Warehouse Services joins a growing list of businesses that have had operations seriously disrupted when large numbers employees were arrested for job related felonies and/or when they couldn’t prove legal status in the United States.

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) steps up its enforcement action against employers hiring illegal aliens, many companies are going beyond the federal government’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” requirements and are voluntarily enrolling in the E-Verify system in order to confirm  the legal status of their new hires.

However, until companies enroll in the federal government's IMAGE progam which helps them ensure that their existing employees are authorized to work in the United States, they risk having their operations thrown into disarray by ICE and other law enforcement actions.

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By

Salt Lake City Immigration Examiner

Ronald Mortensen, Ph.D., is a retired United States Foreign Service Officer (diplomat) with substantial experience in immigration matters. He is a...

Comments

  • Roadvirus 2 years ago
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    Oh yeah...i'm feeling safe! These illegals may have been from Latin America, but what if they had been from countries like Iran, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia? Heads would've really rolled over it.

  • Weary Knight 1 year ago
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    TSA practically tears our clothes off in their searches, but allows illegals to hat dance their way into the facilities that TSA is supposed to make safe?
    This "We didn't know our SUBCONTRACTOR had hired illegals" is getting a bit tired, anymore. Seems it's just an easy-out for those higher ups who are supposed to know better!!!!

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