Notes to editors and reporters:
- The below news release contains preliminary arrest numbers from
today’s enforcement action. These
stats may change as additional information is collected.
- This operation is part of an
ongoing criminal investigation. No
further details can be released beyond the details below or in the associated
court documents.
- More ICE photo stills and video of
the execution of these search warrants are available for download at: www.dvidshub.net/unit/ice
SUMNER, Texas —
As part of an ongoing criminal investigation, special agents with U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations
(HSI) executed criminal search warrants at a North Texas business. HSI also arrested more than 100 company employees
on federal immigration violations who were unlawfully working in the United
States at the trailer-manufacturing business.
This ongoing
investigation began when HSI received information that the company may have knowingly
hired illegal aliens, and that many of the aliens employed at Load Trail were using
fraudulent identification documents.
“Businesses
that knowingly hire illegal aliens create an unfair advantage over their competing
businesses,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, HSI Dallas, which
oversees 128 counties in North Texas, and the state of Oklahoma. “In addition,
they take jobs away from U.S. citizens and legal residents, and they create an
atmosphere poised for exploiting their illegal workforce.”
All of the
immigration status violators arrested Aug. 28 will be interviewed by ICE staff
and Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Immigration Health
Services (DIHS) staff to record any medical, sole-caregiver or other humanitarian
situations. Based on these interviews,
ICE will determine if those arrested remain in custody or are considered for
humanitarian release. In all cases, all
illegal aliens encountered will be fingerprinted and processed for removal from
the United States.
A 24-hour
toll-free detainee locator hotline is available for family members of those arrested
in this operation to address questions about their detention location and status,
and the removal process. This hotline operates in English and Spanish; the
phone number is 1-888-351-4024.
This HSI-led
enforcement action was coordinated with federal, state and local counterparts
including the following agencies: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District
of Texas; ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations; U.S. Customs and Border
Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol, CBP Air and Marine Operations; officers from the
Texas Department of Public Safety also provided traffic support.
HSI is the
federal law enforcement agency responsible for upholding the laws established
by the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which requires employers
to verify the identity and work eligibility of individuals they hire.
These laws help
protect jobs for U.S. citizens and lawful U.S. residents, eliminate unfair
competitive advantages for companies that unlawfully hire an illegal workforce,
and strengthen public safety and national security.
Unauthorized
workers often use stolen identities of legal U.S. workers, which can profoundly
damage for years the identity-theft victim’s credit, medical records and other
aspects of their everyday life.
HSI’s worksite
enforcement investigators help combat worker exploitation, illegal wages, child
labor and other illegal practices. Worksite enforcement investigations often
involve additional criminal activity, such as alien smuggling, human
trafficking, money laundering, document fraud, worker exploitation and/or
substandard wage and working conditions.
In addition to worksite enforcement operations like
this one, HSI also uses I-9
audits to create a culture of compliance among employers. In July, ICE
announced a two-phase
operation under this effort.
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