Raids across U.S. ‘a message’

Launce Rake, Liz Benston and Abigail Goldman

Saturday, April 22, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

This week's nationwide raids on employers who hired illegal immigrants drew the ire of some Las Vegas Hispanics on Friday, while area businesses expressed confidence that their workers had necessary documents.

Fernando Romero, president of the Las Vegas advocacy organization Hispanics in Politics, said Latinos are buzzing about the sweeping raids conducted earlier this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents against a manufacturer of wooden pallets and crates.

Federal officials in 26 states arrested nearly 1,200 employees of IFCO Systems North America Inc. for immigration violations and filed criminal charges against seven of the company's managers. IFCO does not have warehouses or direct representatives in Nevada.

Officials said the raid was the largest workplace raid in the history of federal immigration enforcement.

Critics of the crackdown have noted that it came just days before Congress is to renew debate of controversial immigration reform legislation, which includes House-adopted provisions that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally.

Romero said the raid was retaliation for a series of recent national marches protesting that provision.

"Basically, it's a message to immigrants across the nation who have marched, asking for rights of undocumented immigrants," Romero said. "It's an admonishment."

Romero said the raids would only add fuel to protests against immigration policy.

"It has scared some people, there is no doubt," he said. "But it has riled up a number of us as well. It is beyond fear. It's animosity that's created."

A rally and march are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. this morning at the federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas. Illegal immigrants make up an estimated 10 percent of Southern Nevada's population, according to a recent Pew Hispanic Center report that looked at 2004 data.

Following Wednesday's raid, Bush administration officials vowed to continue cracking down on employers hiring illegal immigrants.

Federal officials reported that more than half of those arrested as illegal immigrants had invalid Social Security numbers. Federal law requires employers to verify the Social Security numbers of new hires.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters in Washington that the raid signals a new aggressive policy.

"Employers and workers alike should be on notice that the status quo has changed," Chertoff said. "We intend to find employers who knowingly or recklessly hire unauthorized workers and we will use every authority within our power to shut down businesses that exploit an illegal workforce to turn a profit."

Representatives from Southern Nevada's dominant industry said the policy's effect on casinos would be limited.

Officials at MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment say undocumented immigrants are unlikely to find their way into the casino industry because the business is highly regulated . Both companies said they ask prospective employees for multiple forms of identification that can include a Social Security card, driver's license or birth certificate.

The companies said they also do criminal background checks on all workers, regardless of whether they work in the property's hotel, restaurants, retail stores or showrooms.

"Our company, and really the gaming industry as a whole, complies with federal law on hiring," Harrah's spokesman David Strow said.

"I don't want to suggest that the (identification process) is airtight, but it would be unlikely that undocumented workers would be working in a casino," added MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman.

The Culinary Union, which represents more than 50,000 hospitality workers on the Strip, relies on employer verifications of resident status when determining membership.

Culinary Political Director Pilar Weiss said raids are typically triggered by suspicion of specific illegal acts.

Fake but authentic-looking Social Security cards and made-up or stolen Social Security numbers have become widely available on the black market in major cities nationwide, opening the door to any number of jobs. Even so, Weiss said, the multiple layers of identification required by casinos deter many illegal immigrants from applying for jobs in the first place.

"You have to show a lot of paperwork," she said. "You can't just bring a ratty looking ID and get a job at the Rio the next day."

Casinos also are wary of hiring illegal workers because their coveted gaming licenses, worth millions in potential profits, are at stake, she said.

While many illegal immigrants are living and working in the Las Vegas Valley, they are often part of larger family units that include U.S.-born children and other documented family members that have worked in the country for years, Weiss said. Those who are documented tend to get work at casinos and those who aren't become part of less-regulated businesses, she said.

"You have a stratification based on what kind of jobs people are able to get," Weiss said.

Irene Porter, executive director of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, said the builders try to ensure documents are in order.

"I think most of our reputable businessmen are working with due diligence to check the documents of people," she said, "but there are a lot of awfully good, false documents out there. It can take weeks to check.

"The majority of our companies have too much to lose," Porter said. "They are doing everything they can to check the documents."