More details emerge from operation that rounded up 45 at Annapolis company
By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer
Capital Gazette Communications
Published 07/01/08
Spurred by yesterday's raid of an Annapolis-area painting business, Hispanic rights defenders protested this morning in front of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore.
Meanwhile, political leaders and other business owners in the area applauded the raids, saying companies that hire undocumented workers undercut legitimate businesses and workers.
ICE agents, with the help of about 50 county police officers, raided the offices of Annapolis Painting Services and 15 homes throughout the county yesterday morning, arresting 45 suspected undocumented workers.
About 50 people attended this morning's rally in Baltimore, which was organized by the National Capital Immigrant Coalition, armed with signs saying "Don't divide our families" and "Stop the raids."
Irma Gonzalez, who said she has lived in Annapolis for 20 years, sported a bright pink sign with a picture of County Executive John R. Leopold with a line through it saying "John Leopold, we are not criminals."
She said immigrants in Annapolis are afraid.
"We have a voice," she said. "We can't keep quiet because a lot of innocent people get hurt," she said.
The Rev. John Levin, a priest at St. Mary's Church in Annapolis, said poverty in El Salvador and other countries drives people here, sometimes illegally.
"The effect on the families is what concerns me," he said of the raids. "They are people of faith, they're contributing to our economy, and we're taking advantage of them. It's a terrible injustice," he said.
Scot R. Rittenberg, assistant special agent in charge for ICE in Baltimore, said the agency received a tip about the company and has been investigating for 18 months. The arrests involved 11 search warrants, five seizure warrants for bank accounts, 10 seizure warrants for vehicles and 15 forfeitable properties, he said.
The arrested workers included people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nigeria and Panama.
Ten women and 35 men were taken into custody. In addition, at least five more people were served notice, but not taken into custody because of medical reasons, being the sole caregiver for a child, or in one case, due to a late-term pregnancy, Mr. Rittenberg said. Those people will have to appear before an immigration judge at a later date, he said.
ICE has been investigating employers since 2003 when the agency was created as a part of the Department of Homeland Security.
"The magnet for illegal immigrants is jobs, is the work and the money," Mr. Rittenberg said. "So one method of sort of getting rid of that magnet is by going after these companies, especially ones that are egregious violators of both the immigration and labor laws so we can get rid of the draw of illegal immigration."
ICE still is investigating the company and the owner has not been charged with anything at this point, he said.
Mr. Leopold said the county plans to continue working cooperatively with ICE in operations like this and said that other jurisdictions in the region are collaborating more and more in this kind of operation.
Companies that hire illegal immigrants hurt the business market, he said.
"Clearly when companies hire illegal immigrants, pay them below market wage rates, don't pay overtime, don't pay taxes, they're putting employers who want to play by the rules at a competitive disadvantage," Mr. Leopold said this morning.
He stressed that he did want to help immigrants "who want to play by the rules" get legal status in the U.S.
Mr. Leopold pushed for a workshop earlier this year to help businesses navigate the complicated process of legally hiring foreign workers.
The business owner
Calls to Robert Bontempo Jr., owner of Annapolis Painting Services, were not returned yesterday and someone who answered the door at the company said he was not there.
As a young man, Mr. Bontempo paid for college by painting homes in the 1970s and built up a firm that has worked on everything from the Naval Academy to such landmark buildings as the State Capitol building.
On early mornings, the firm's white vans can regularly be seen zig-zagging across the city.
"Over the years, we've been called on for virtually every painting project imaginable, and have completed work on over 10,000 residential, commercial, historic and landmark properties," according to the company's Web site. Mr. Bontempo's firm also is one of several local firms branding themselves as the "Annapolis Design District," mostly along Chinquapin Round Road.
Other than his success as a businessman, Mr. Bontempo is a property owner who owned nearly a third of all the properties in the 5-acre neighborhood of Carrs Manor and was a vocal proponent who petitioned to hook his lots up to the county sewer system.
Diane Marianos, whose husband owns M&M Painting Co., an Annapolis-area painting company, called yesterday's immigration raid "unfortunate," but not uncommon.
Ms. Marianos said M&M Painting employs only legal workers, but said the issue of hiring illegal immigrants is becoming rampant.
"It happens more and more everyday," she said.
Michael McGurk, owner of Bay Country Painters in Severna Park and president of the Baltimore/Annapolis Chapter of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America, said Mr. Bontempo is a "serious business man" he knows personally.
Mr. McGurk said he is glad to see the county executive being so vocal on an issue unfair to companies like his that are playing by the rules.
"We're trying to do everything by the book," he said. "I've worked really hard to do that."
Bob Burdon, president and chief executive officer of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, said Mr. Botempo is a member of the local chamber.
"It's a well-established business, a very well respected business in the community," he said. "It's hard to believe when you hear something like this."
Mr. Burdon said like any other person a number of questions are running through his mind, including whether Mr. Bontempo was aware of hiring unqualified employees.
Because these people were taken in under suspicion, "I guess we're going to have to wait and see" to find out what the results are, he said.
Mario Quiroz, a spokesman for Casa de Maryland, a nonprofit group that advocates for Hispanic immigrants, said yesterday's operation will have long-reaching effects.
"We think that this is really bad for the community because we're not only talking about 45 people, we're talking about 45 people and their families," he said.
His group condemns actions like this, especially in this case, where 125 officers - 50 from the county and 75 from ICE - were used to capture just 45 detainees.
"These people are not criminals. They are not a national threat," he said.
The national immigration system is "broken," he said, and problems in policy must be solved on a national level.
He said the group also feels that illegal immigrants help the economy by providing much-needed labor.
Mr. Quiroz said he was surprised the county was so involved in the operation, noting that it is unusual for local agencies to be involved in these operations, and he was surprised immigration was such a focus in the county.
"The county has many, many needs, and he's making immigration priority one? That's something to think about," Mr. Quiroz said.
Irene M. Zoppi, executive director of the Annapolis office of El Centro de Ayuda - The Help Center - said they haven't gotten requests for help from effected families yet, but that they will respond to any request they get.
The Center helps people whose families are deported reunite with family members.
"We are prepared ... we are here to help them," she said.
Yesterday's efforts were one of several in the county over the last year in which the county cooperated with Immigrations and Customs Enforcment targeting immigrations.
Last fall, county police and ICE officials arrested nine people at a bust at Viva La Raza, Mexican Restaurant & Bar in Glen Burnie.
And last March, 69 people were arrested at several businesses, including workers at Under Armour in Curtis Bay and Dixie Printing and Packaging Corp. in Glen Burnie, and six other companies in the Baltimore region. The workers worked for a temporary employment agency, and not the businesses themselves.
Last fall, Mr. Leopold permanently assigned a county police officer to the regional Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, which is led by ICE.
Also, one officer from each of the county police department's four districts has received specialized training in spotting fake immigration documents and assisting in immigration investigations.
---
Staff writers Katie Arcieri and Elisabeth Hulette contributed to this report.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/07_01-30/TOP
