HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - A company that owned a Japanese steakhouse here in Hot Springs has pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens, following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Yu Hua Company, LLC, which was doing business as the Osaka Japanese Steakhouse, pleaded guilty to a felony charge in U.S. District Court in Hot Springs last week. As part of the plea agreement, a fine of $45,000 has been recommended to the court. Cong Ling (Amy) Huang, one of the restaurant's owners, pleaded guilty on behalf of the company.

ICE's investigation into the company began in August 2006. Two months later, ICE agents executed search warrants at the steakhouse and a Hot Springs residence where the restaurant's illegal alien employees were being harbored. Four Mexican nationals and one Philippine national were arrested during those searches. At the residence, agents recovered various fraudulent immigration documents linked to two of the Mexican nationals. The two aliens were subsequently indicted for possession of a fraudulent resident alien card.

According to court documents, the restaurant manager admitted that she did not review the employees' work authorization documents when they were hired, as required by law. A total of six illegal aliens employed by Osaka who were living at the house rented by the company were arrested during the course of the investigation.

"Employers who take advantage of illegal labor to gain a competitive advantage for their own greed will be identified, arrested and prosecuted,” said Bob Balfe, U.S Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. “We have no patience for employers who tolerate or perpetuate a shadow economy.”

“ICE is aggressively targeting those employers who knowingly employ an illegal alien workforce,” said Michael A. Holt, special agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in New Orleans. “This enforcement action demonstrates how we use all our investigative tools to go after those who take advantage of illegal labor to make a profit.”

The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office, Fort Smith, Arkansas.

-- ICE --