Nine seized in immigration raids (Lexington Herald-Leader)

Nine seized in immigration raids
BUSINESS APPARENTLY WON'T FACE CHARGES

By Steve Lannen
SLANNEN@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Posted on Wed, May. 07, 2008

Police and federal immigration authorities raided a Somerset business on Tuesday and arrested several employees.

Nine employees at Somerset Hardwood and Flooring were arrested after authorities executed a search warrant and determined through personnel files that several workers' identifications and Social Security numbers were actually those of other people.

The detained were all Mexican nationals and will likely be deported, Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement Sgt. Brian Jackson said. He said they were all charged with ID theft, a Class D felony.

Twenty-eight identity theft warrants were pending for other employees, Jackson said, and 34 other workers were found to have invalid, but not stolen, Social Security numbers. Police were also searching for the person responsible for selling the fake identifications and numbers.

Jackson said he did not expect the business to face any charges. He said it appears they followed all the procedures to verify the workers' identities.

Federal law requires employers to examine identification documents, but it also says those employers are not expected to be experts in detecting improper identification. The company released a statement to WKYT-TV that said it did not knowingly hire people not authorized to work in the United States.

The investigation began last month after a traffic stop by a KVE officer revealed that the driver was using a fake ID and Social Security number, Jackson said. The raid was one of the first for KVE, which deals with traffic enforcement. This was the first immigration investigation Jackson could recall, he said.