On June 4, ICE agents executed a federal search warrant at the business office of Boss 4 Packing in Heber, California, a locally-owned company that provides contract workers to farms in southern California's Imperial Valley. The search warrant remains under seal. Agents arrested two of the company's foremen on federal criminal charges for misusing Social Security numbers to employ unauthorized workers. One was arrested at his home near Brawley, California, while the other was arrested working in a nearby field. ICE also arrested 32 Boss 4 Packing employees—seven women and 25 men—on administrative immigration violations. Most of the workers were arrested in the Brawley area.
One woman was released the same day on humanitarian grounds with orders to report for a removal processing interview, and one underage worker was turned over to relatives. Of the other 30 workers, 18 workers had already been returned to Mexico as of June 5, while 12 were being held as material witnesses in the ongoing investigation. (ICE news release, June 5)
From Immigration News Briefs [2], June 22
See our last post on the politics of immigration [3].
