Feds arrest supervisors, 76 illegal immigrants

WASHINGTON – Federal authorities on Tuesday announced the arrest of four construction supervisors and 76 illegal immigrant workers at a Kentucky homebuilding company, continuing a promised government crackdown on employers who rely on illegal labor.

The arrests at Fischer Homes, a leading builder in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, followed the April 19 arrests of seven current and former managers and more than 1,100 workers for Ifco Systems North America Inc., a subsidiary of a Dutch manufacturer of plastic crates and wooden pallets.

The effort comes as Congress debates plans to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws.

“We will continue to bring criminal actions against employers who are consistently harboring illegal aliens,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

The four Fischer Homes managers were charged in a criminal complaint with aiding and abetting or harboring illegal aliens for commercial or private financial gain. They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine.

Calls to Fischer Homes headquarters seeking comment Tuesday night were not returned.

In recent weeks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also has charged an Indiana stucco company owner in connection with an illegal employment scheme; won guilty pleas and the forfeiture of more than $1 million by operators of three Baltimore restaurants for conspiring to harbor illegal aliens; and indicted two Ohio temporary employment agencies and nine individuals on charges of hiring and harboring illegal aliens.

The arrests have attracted the notice of employers and sparked rumors of sweeps of illegal workers around the country. But advocates on both sides of the immigration debate said recent U.S. practice makes them skeptical that the arrests are more than a public relations effort.