Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008

Immigration raid nets 32 Arlington workers

By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer

 ARLINGTON – Federal immigration agents raided an Arlington aerospace company and arrested nearly three dozen people Thursday morning after a year-long investigation into allegations the business used illegal workers.

A federal warrant of inspection was served this morning at Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies, said Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle. The company is a leading supplier of frame and interior parts for commercial and military aircraft, including parts for the Boeing Co.

At this time there isn’t any evidence AMT officials were aware the arrested workers used false documents to gain employment, Dankers said.

Agents arrested 16 men and 16 women. The majority are believed to be from Mexico, officials said.

The workers are expected to be deported. They are being interviewed, fingerprinted and photographed. As a result of the interviews four women were released on humanitarian grounds, pending further proceedings. The remaining workers were being held at a federal detention center in Tacoma.

The arrests are part of work site enforcement that targets critical infrastructure and security sensitive sites, Dankers said. AMT is registered with the U.S. Department of State’s Director of Defense, which oversees the export and import of products used for national defense.

Immigration agents audited the company’s employment records and discovered discrepancies that indicated a small percentage of employees used fake documents to secure jobs, Dankers said.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA