Immigration agents raid Otay Mesa bakery

Source: SignOnSanDiego

The owner and three employees of a wholesale bakery in Otay Mesa have been charged with running an extensive scheme to hire and harbor illegal immigrants and evade detection by authorities. The charges were filed Thursday after federal agents swept through the business in an industrial zone near the Mexican border and arrested more than half of its staff.

In a criminal complaint, the U.S. Attorney’s Office accused the owner of S & S Bakery of altering workers’ delivery routes or keeping them at the factory to avoid detection by immigration officials. The owner also allegedly signed off on mismatched Social Security numbers for employees who fabricated, bought and sold fake government IDs, the complaint said.

“I’m in federal court every day, really that often, and this type of prosecution is rare. In all the cases I’ve seen come through federal court, there’s been nothing of this scale,” said Carlos. “It’s just not typical for a business to make a practice, a policy of subverting immigration laws.” Carlos said the U.S. Attorney’s Office usually doesn’t press charges this serious unless it has solid material to back up the accusations.

Since President Barack Obama took office, immigration authorities have shifted from high-profile raids to audits of businesses to review their employee-verification documents. Still, ICE officials have said raids remain a crucial tool in criminal cases. Within San Diego County, the criminal case against operators of the French Gourmet restaurant in Pacific Beach has attracted nationwide attention and sent a chill through the restaurant industry, a magnet for illegal labor.

Read more: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/14/immigration-agents-raid-san-diego-bakery/

http://www.sandsbakery.com/

french gourmet site

http://www.thefrenchgourmet.com/restaurant.php

because that's where the law is being broken. Go after the employers not the employees

Now, HOW ABOUT SOME COMPREHENSIVE REFORM?