Federal agents raid Portland plant, arrest immigrant workers

Three staffing company managers are charged with document fraud, ID theft

LocalNewsDaily.com, Jun 12, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (95 Reader comments)

More than 160 people were arrested Tuesday morning after federal immigration agents raided a food processing plant and a staffing company in North Portland, according to federal and city officials. The raids were part of an investigation into alleged immigration violation and document fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Search warrants were executed at two local offices of American Staffing Resources Inc., one at 8926 N. Lombard St. and another inside the Fresh Del Monte produce plant at 9243 N. Rivergate Blvd. A warrant was also served at the plant's offices.

According to a statement by the Department of Justice, more than 90 percent of American Staffing's employees were using fraudulent Social Security numbers and some workers were facing deportation.

A federal grand jury indicted three people on charges of immigration, document and identity fraud. Their names have not been released.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday's arrests stem from a January undercover investigation of the plant and staffing company by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. According to an affidavit, during that operation an ICE undercover informant posing as an undocumented worker was allegedly offered false papers by an American Staffing Resources Inc. official.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Portland Mayor Tom Potter denounced the raids, saying he was "angry" at the mass arrests.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit