Fenway vendor fined in immigration audit (The Boston Globe)

Fenway vendor fined in immigration audit
Cited in US review of employee forms
By Maria Sacchetti
Globe Staff / November 10, 2010

The food concessionaire at Fenway Park is among five New England companies that federal immigration officials fined last fiscal year for being unable to prove that all their workers were in the United States legally.

Officials would not say if the vendor, Aramark of Philadelphia, had actually hired illegal workers at Fenway Park, but they fined the company $50,000 for violations found during an audit of federal I-9 forms, paperwork that must be filled out by employees when they are hired to show they have legal authorization to work.

Bruce Foucart, head of investigations for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New England, which conducts the audits, said the reviews are designed to crack down on company owners who hire illegal workers, as well as workers who engage in criminal activity.

“I’m hoping that it’s acting as a deterrent for people,’’ he said.

He said that in some cases the audits uncovered illegal immigrants; in other cases, there were paperwork violations.

The other companies fined last year are Burger King franchises in several places in New England; a Somerville construction company; a seafood-processing plant in Maine; and an adult entertainment club in Maine.

Aramark officials said they have improved their paperwork processes, but would not comment further. The company said the fine was related to an audit in 2008.

“It has been our policy to hire people with appropriate and proper documentation, and we are committed to complying with the law in all of our hiring practices,’’ said a spokesman, David Freireich.

The fines reflect the Obama administration’s policy shift last year to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers in hope that it will address the underlying causes that attract such workers to this country. Nationwide, immigration officials arrested and charged 187 employers last year for violations following the I-9 audits, up from 114 the year before and 135 two years ago.

Fines are on the rise as well. In New England, federal officials imposed $74,452.50 in fines last year, up from $14,534 in 2008. Nationwide, the fines rose tenfold from $675,209 two years ago to nearly $7 million last year.