Dozens nabbed on Buckley job

120 illegal workers arrested at base housing project

Fernando Quintero, Rosa Ramirez and Laura Frank, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 21, 2006 at midnight

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Immigration agents arrested at least 120 undocumented workers who were building houses for Buckley Air Force Base on Wednesday - part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants who could pose a security risk to the nation's "critical infrastructure facilities."

The sunrise roundup, which occurred on property adjacent to the base, is thought to be the largest work site immigration raid in Colorado history.

The workers had been employed by subcontractors building 362 single-family rental homes as part of a $74.7 million government project.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through the construction site demanding to see IDs from the workers, most of whom were being paid in cash, according to immigration officials.

The construction site is near satellite monitoring systems on the base, which is home to the 460th Space Wing, which assists in global surveillance, missile warnings and homeland defense operations.

Federal officials said they were concerned about a lack of standard security procedures for entering and exiting the housing site.

However, a construction union official said he recently was turned away because he didn't have security clearance.

The arrests sent shock waves throughout the immigrant community in Aurora, as well as the building construction trade.

Argelia Zuñiga, whose father was among those being detained, said her family frantically was trying to find an attorney to help him.

"We're afraid for him. We don't know what will happen to him. Will he go to jail? Will he be immediately deported?" she said.

Spanish-language talk radio station KBNO-AM (1280) and the Mexican Consulate were flooded with calls from worried families.

An official with the Mexican Consulate in Denver said ICE told him that 116 Mexicans were arrested, three of them minors, and that 98 had agreed voluntarily to return to Mexico and were loaded onto a bus to Mexico by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Other arrested workers came from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

The men, ranging in age from 18 to 50, were working for Hunt Building Co. Ltd., based in El Paso, Texas.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said the arrests at Buckley are a start, but now the employer of the suspected illegal immigrants needs to be held accountable.

"This is a good signal to the illegal alien community," said Tancredo, who has been an outspoken proponent of tougher immigration laws. "An even better one would be vigorous prosecution of the employer."

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok could not say Wednesday whether any charges had been filed against Hunt Building officials.

"Knowingly hiring illegal aliens is a violation of immigration law," Rusnok said.

"The bottom line is, this is an ongoing investigation."

Bruce Jackson, a Hunt superintendent, said there were about 20 subcontractors and he did not know which of those companies had hired illegal immigrants.

Dan McCarthy, another Hunt construction superintendent, said he was told the raid had been in the works for about three months.

About 60 people did not arrive to work on Wednesday.

"I think people saw it in the news before they made it here," McCarthy said.

Avel Madera, of Denver, drove up to the construction site about 8 a.m., where he was confronted by ICE officials who asked to see his ID.

He said he showed officials his Colorado driver's license and told them he was a U.S. citizen.

"There was a large group of people on the side (of the road). If they didn't have their IDs or if they showed their Mexican ID, (ICE agents) would put a wristband on them."

Madera said he managed to warn some co-workers about the raid, even though immigration officials told people to get off their cell phones.

Three illegal immigrants had outstanding criminal warrants and were turned over to Aurora police.

The others "will be quickly processed and ultimately returned to their country of origin," Rusnok said.

A voluntary return - in which the person is taken back to his country and released - is offered only to illegal immigrants from Mexico who have not committed a crime. Illegal presence in the country is a civil offense.

If any of the illegal immigrants have committed a serious crime in the U.S., they likely would be turned over to the U.S. attorney's office for prosecution.

ICE officials did not say how the Buckley workers came to their attention. Agents often focus on industries that are considered potential security risks, including airports, power plants, refineries and military bases.

ICE agents made similar early morning raids on Wednesday in Pennsylvania and Delaware, arresting 115 illegal immigrants, including some fugitives who had ducked previous deportation orders.

So far this fiscal year, ICE has made more than 400 criminal arrests at work sites across the nation and apprehended about 2,700 immigration law violators.

Raid highlights

• Federal agents arrested at least 120 illegal immigrants Wednesday at a military housing construction site adjacent to Buckley Air Force Base.

• The Mexican consulate said it was told that U.S. authorities put 98 of those arrested on a bus back to Mexico and detained the others.

• Three of those arrested were wanted on criminal charges.

• Workers' families frantically tried to determine their loved ones' whereabouts.

How illegal immigrants are removed from the country:

• If an illegal immigrant is convicted of an "aggravated felony," a serious crime as defined by immigration law, or has been previously ordered deported, the person can be immediately deported.

• If an illegal immigrant has committed a crime not considered an aggravated felony, the person receives a "notice to appear" before an immigration judge, who will determine whether the person is deported.

• If a person is in the country illegally, which is a civil offense, but has not committed a crime, the person receives a notice to appear before an immigration judge. Mexican nationals might be offered "voluntary removal," in which they are escorted back to Mexico. Citizens of other countries are not eligible for voluntary removal and would be ordered to go before an immigration judge.

quinterof@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5250

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