Two managers of a Beardstown cleaning company were arrested today and charged with helping illegal immigrants steal the identities of U.S. citizens.
Identity-theft charges were filed against the plant manager and personnel adminsitrator at Quality Service Integrity Incorporated, a contractor for the Cargill meat-processing plant in Beardstown.
- 1:30 a.m. - Worksite enforcement operation begins
- 5:15 a.m. - Phone calls to newsroom relay rumors of immigrants at plant, police checking IDs; employee tells KHQA all workers given three-hour late start on workday because plant is not clean
- 10:00 - ICE holds news conference
- 11:15 - KHQA discovers two managers of the cleaning company were arrested
Stay tuned for more updates |
Officials claim they provided false identities to new employees and gave them information about obtaining false identification documents, including social security numbers.
Federal officials also arrested eleven other QSI employees and took 49 illegal immigrants into custody.
At a news conference this morning, Beardstown Mayor Bob Walters says he and the town embrace the hispanic community in Beardstown, but he also says the residents must abide by the law just like anyone else. Walters says he is headed to Washington D.C. on Thursday to meet with U.S. Senator Dick Durbin to discuss the incident and the current debate in Congress over immigration.
The Mayor said he is not concerned the incident will steer Hispanic people or others away from Beardstown.
"I don't think so,'' said Walters. "I think it's probably an embarrassment to them to. I've had a number of Hispanics who went through the process and done it the right way, they don't condone these types of activities going on either."
St. Alexius Catholic Church holds an all Spanish speaking service for Hispanics. Father Richard Sheehan says that many come to the U.S for a better life.
"They want kind of a stable life for themselves, for their children. It's a whole sense of betterment,'' said Father Sheehan. "They see the opportunity in country to better their lives."
The raid, which happened at the Cargill plant, shed light on an underground business of identity theft in Beardstown.
"Late last year we have received complaints of falsified documents, false information to receive employment in the Beardstown area. We open numerous cases and made several arrests,'' Walters added. When local police realized the case involved illegal immigration, they called federal authorities.
This is not the first raid for the community.
In June 2003, nine Beardstown residents and Texas man were arrested for selling U.S Social Security cards and birth certificates to Mexican immigrants.
Mayor Walters says this probably won't be the last time this kind of raid will happen in Beardstown, either. He says some of the illegal immigrants dodged the raid, so federal authorities could be back.