March 6, 2007

ICE arrests 36 illegal aliens at Mishawaka business

MISHAWAKA, Ind. - Thirty-six illegal aliens working at a manufacturing plant here were arrested today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents as part of an ongoing worksite enforcement investigation.

The illegal alien workers were employed at Janco Composites Inc., an industrial plant located in Mishawaka that manufactures fiberglass plastic products for a variety of industries. ICE agents arrested the immigration violators while executing a criminal search warrant this morning obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Indiana. This remains an ongoing investigation.

Of those arrested, 16 are male and 20 are female. All are currently in ICE custody and will be placed into deportation proceedings for violating U.S. immigration laws. Thirty-five of those arrested are Mexican nationals and one is from El Salvador.

ICE initiated the investigation into Janco in late 2006 after receiving credible information from several sources that a large number of illegal aliens were employed there.

"ICE aggressively enforces our nation's immigration laws," said Elissa A. Brown, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago. "As part of our ongoing enforcement strategy, ICE arrests illegal workers and seeks criminal charges against employers who knowingly hire or continue to employ illegal aliens." Brown oversees a six-state region that includes: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin.

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

This worksite enforcement operation is part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, Homeland Security seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. SBI also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement investigations and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside this country.

To help employers ensure they are building legal workforce through voluntary partnerships with the government, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a new initiative. Called the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers or "IMAGE," the program is designed to build cooperative relationships between government and businesses, to strengthen hiring practices, and to reduce the unlawful employment of illegal aliens. The initiative also seeks to accomplish greater industry compliance and corporate due diligence through enhanced federal training and education of employers. ICE strongly encourages employers to review IMAGE program materials available at www.ice.gov.

-- 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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