Immigration agents arrest 49 during raids of Dallas Latino night clubs (Dallas Morning News)

Immigration agents arrest 49 during raids of Dallas Latino night clubs

10:36 PM CDT on Sunday, March 30, 2008

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
jtrahan@dallasnews.com

A task force led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided more than two dozen mostly Latino night clubs, restaurants, pool halls and other businesses Saturday night, arresting 49 undocumented immigrants employed as security guards, officials said.

All of those arrested work for two local security companies, which authorities declined to identify Sunday.

"We don't want to compromise the investigation so we're not releasing the two security company names yet," said Jamille Bradfield, spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney's office, which is participating in the investigation.

It's unclear if more arrests are expected, officials said.

At 11 p.m. Saturday, teams made up of local, state and federal officers simultaneously hit 26 businesses in the Love Field area, northwest Dallas, Old East Dallas and Lakewood. No injuries were reported.

Authorities recovered four pistols. Federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from possessing firearms.

Those arrested also face charges of being in the country illegally.

Five of the suspects face charges of document tampering in order to get licensed as a security officer and to carry a firearm, Ms. Bradfield said. That is a third-degree felony, and the punishment range is two to 10 years.

"Hopefully, this operation will help us send a message that we will not tolerate the falsification of documents for undocumented aliens under the guise of providing security," said Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins in a statement Sunday.

Among those businesses raided were Ojeda's Restaurant on Maple Avenue and the Dallas Gentlemen's Club on West Northwest Highway.

None of the managers at any of the businesses reached had any comment.

Four of those arrested were from El Salvador, and the others were Mexican, authorities said.
One of the Salvadorans was in the U.S. legally, immigration officials said.

It's unclear what charges he faces.

In addition to ICE and the district attorney's office, the following agencies also participated Saturday night: the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Dallas Police Department; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission; and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.