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Robert L. Smith
Plain Dealer Reporter
Federal agents walked into Mexican restaurants in Oberlin, Vermilion and six other Ohio communities Wednesday and walked out with 58 workers in handcuffs.
The dishwashers, cooks and waitresses now in federal custody are all Mexican citizens recruited to work here illegally, federal authorities say. They are likely to be deported.
None of their bosses has been charged with a crime - yet.
The raids at eight Casa Fiesta restaurants is part of larger workplace enforcement strategy that infuriates immigrant advocates, who say it brings down the hammer on hapless workers.
"These people are not criminals," said David Leopold, a Cleveland immigration lawyer. "The worst thing you can say about them is they came here to feed their families."
Leopold is to testify before a congressional subcommittee in Washington today on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. In lieu of that reform, he said, the government is using police actions to support a broken immigration system.
Immigration authorities say they are enforcing the law as best they can, in part, by targeting businesses that purposely hire undocumented workers.
"This was just a step," said Brian M. Moskowitz, the special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Investigations in Detroit. "This is part of a criminal investigation of a company that is violating U.S. law."
The law allows his agents to act quickly against people suspected of being in the country illegally, he said. Building a criminal case against an employer takes more time.
At about 11 a.m. Wednesday, ICE agents executed criminal search warrants at Casa Fiesta restaurants in Norwalk, Oberlin, Vermilion, Ashland, Youngstown, Sandusky, Fremont and suburban Toledo. They also searched a home in Norwalk, where the restaurant chain is based, said Greg Palmore, spokesman for ICE.
He said agents detained 54 men and four women, all from Mexico. Three of the women were released on their own recognizance "for humanitarian reasons." That usually means they are mothers caring for children.
The men and women likely will be deported as soon as possible, Palmore said.
On April 16, immigration agents raided Jalapeño Loco in Mentor and six other Mexican restaurants in five states and detained 45 suspected undocumented workers. Soon after, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against 11 restaurant owners and managers, accusing them of recruiting and harboring illegal immigrants.
The workers detained Wednesday are in the custody of ICE's Cleveland office, which says family members can check on their detention status by calling 216-535-0510.
http://www.cleveland.com/crime/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/iscri/1216888211263560.xml&coll=2
Plain Dealer Reporter
Federal agents walked into Mexican restaurants in Oberlin, Vermilion and six other Ohio communities Wednesday and walked out with 58 workers in handcuffs.
The dishwashers, cooks and waitresses now in federal custody are all Mexican citizens recruited to work here illegally, federal authorities say. They are likely to be deported.
None of their bosses has been charged with a crime - yet.
The raids at eight Casa Fiesta restaurants is part of larger workplace enforcement strategy that infuriates immigrant advocates, who say it brings down the hammer on hapless workers.
"These people are not criminals," said David Leopold, a Cleveland immigration lawyer. "The worst thing you can say about them is they came here to feed their families."
Leopold is to testify before a congressional subcommittee in Washington today on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. In lieu of that reform, he said, the government is using police actions to support a broken immigration system.
Immigration authorities say they are enforcing the law as best they can, in part, by targeting businesses that purposely hire undocumented workers.
"This was just a step," said Brian M. Moskowitz, the special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Investigations in Detroit. "This is part of a criminal investigation of a company that is violating U.S. law."
The law allows his agents to act quickly against people suspected of being in the country illegally, he said. Building a criminal case against an employer takes more time.
At about 11 a.m. Wednesday, ICE agents executed criminal search warrants at Casa Fiesta restaurants in Norwalk, Oberlin, Vermilion, Ashland, Youngstown, Sandusky, Fremont and suburban Toledo. They also searched a home in Norwalk, where the restaurant chain is based, said Greg Palmore, spokesman for ICE.
He said agents detained 54 men and four women, all from Mexico. Three of the women were released on their own recognizance "for humanitarian reasons." That usually means they are mothers caring for children.
The men and women likely will be deported as soon as possible, Palmore said.
On April 16, immigration agents raided Jalapeño Loco in Mentor and six other Mexican restaurants in five states and detained 45 suspected undocumented workers. Soon after, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against 11 restaurant owners and managers, accusing them of recruiting and harboring illegal immigrants.
The workers detained Wednesday are in the custody of ICE's Cleveland office, which says family members can check on their detention status by calling 216-535-0510.
http://www.cleveland.com/crime/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/iscri/1216888211263560.xml&coll=2
