Nine arrested on immigration charges (AP c/o Winston-Salem Journal)

Nine arrested on immigration charges
Charlotte restaurant employees believed to be undocumented

Saturday, March 22, 2008

CHARLOTTE, NC - Nine workers at an Italian restaurant have been arrested on immigration charges after federal officials got information about undocumented employees.
The Charlotte Observer reported yesterday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement arrested the workers at an Olive Garden restaurant Thursday afternoon, shortly before the restaurant’s busy dinner hours. A manager at the restaurant referred questions to a company spokeswoman who did not return phone calls from the newspaper Thursday night.
The workers, who were escorted into a van after their arrest, are from Indonesia, Mexico and Guatemala, authorities said. The workers’ names and the charges they face have not been released.
ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said that the workers will go before an immigration judge who will consider deportation. He said that their immigration status is not public record.
The daughter of a woman who was arrested said that her mother had worked at the restaurant for eight years. Adriana Sanchez said that her mother, Amalia de la Cruz, 56, is from Mexico.
“We want to talk to her and tell her not to sign anything,” Sanchez said as she went to see her mother at the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Rocha said that the investigation was ongoing but didn’t provide details. He also declined comment on whether the restaurant would be held liable.
Companies can be fined for violating immigration laws, and prosecution is possible if investigators find evidence of criminal wrongdoing, Rocha said.
“No industry regardless of size, type or location is immune from complying with the law,” Rocha said.
“Illegal employment is one of the main drives behind illegal immigration, which makes work-site enforcement a crucial element of our enforcement efforts.”