April 20, 2007

ICE arrests 13 illegal workers at Bay Area packaging factory whose clients include U.S. military
Many employees used stolen Social Security numbers to obtain jobs

OAKLAND, Calif. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents this morning arrested 13 foreign nationals who were working illegally at a Bay Area factory that makes packaging products for industry and agribusiness, including the U.S. military.

Seven of the 13 Eagle Bag employees taken into custody today used valid social security numbers belonging to others in order to obtain their jobs.

Today's enforcement action targeted unauthorized alien workers at the plant operated by the Eagle Bag Corporation in Oakland. The company, which manufactures a variety of specialty packaging products, supplies sand bags to the military and bags used by the U.S. government for food distribution to Third World countries.

The 13 workers taken into custody were identified after ICE agents audited Eagle Bag's employment records. The audit revealed that 47 of the company's more than 70 employees submitted counterfeit immigration documents bearing fraudulent alien registration numbers to obtain their jobs. In addition, ICE agents determined 33 of Eagle Bag's illegal workers were using stolen social security numbers.

ICE agents emphasize that Eagle Bag Corporation sought to comply with current hiring laws and is not facing any charges related to the worksite probe at this time. Meanwhile, ICE agents are continuing to investigate the illegal alien employees to determine whether any of them will face federal prosecution for aggravated identity theft, a violation that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.

"This investigation provides yet another example of a disturbing trend - the identities of U.S. citizens are increasingly being hijacked by criminal organizations who sell them to aliens seeking to illegally gain employment in this country," said Charles DeMore, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in San Francisco. "Combating this burgeoning identity theft problem is one of ICE's highest priorities."

The workers arrested today are being held on administrative immigration violations while ICE continues its investigation. They were initially taken to ICE's office in San Francisco to be interviewed, photographed and fingerprinted. Those who are not charged criminally will be voluntarily returned to their native countries or placed in immigration removal proceedings. All of the illegal workers are from Mexico.

During federal fiscal year 2006, ICE arrested 718 individuals on criminal charges in worksite investigations and apprehended another 3,667 illegal workers on immigration violations, a more than three-fold increase compared to 2005.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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