Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies Supplies Parts For Several
Airliners
US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) agents executed a federal civil search warrant
Friday morning at an aircraft manufacturing plant in Arlington, WA
arresting 32 of the company's workers on administrative immigration
violations.
The search warrant was executed at Aerospace Manufacturing
Technologies, Inc. (AMT), a leading supplier of frame and interior
parts for commercial and military aircraft. AMT provides many of
the parts used in several airliners, including the Boeing 737 and
Boeing 777.
The operation was part of ICE's worksite enforcement effort
focusing on critical infrastructure and security sensitive sites.
AMT is registered with the US Department of State's Director of
Defense Trade Controls, which oversees the export and import of
certain products that can be used for national defense
purposes.
The unauthorized workers included foreign nationals from two
countries -- Mexico (30) and El Salvador (2). The group includes 16
men and 16 women.
Those arrested were interviewed, fingerprinted and photographed
by ICE agents and processed for removal from the United States.
Information obtained during the interviews assists ICE in making
decisions about whether to detain an individual or permit a
conditional humanitarian release.
As a result of those interviews, four of the illegal workers,
all female, were released initially on humanitarian grounds,
pending future immigration proceedings. The 28 workers remaining in
ICE custody will be held at the Northwest Detention Center in
Tacoma, WA.
The enforcement action came after ICE agents audited the
employment records of AMT. The audit revealed discrepancies leading
agents to believe that a small percentage of the company's
employees used counterfeit documents to secure their jobs. ICE
states at this time, there is no evidence AMT was aware the
arrested workers had used false credentials to secure their
employment, though the investigation is ongoing.
"Today's enforcement action is part of ICE's ongoing nationwide
effort to shut down the employment magnet fueling illegal
immigration," said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of ICE's
office of investigations in Seattle. "Every job held by an illegal
alien is a job taken from a US citizen or legal resident of this
area."