BY ADAM WALLWORTH
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
April 13, 2009
Deportation cases against two dozen illegal aliens apprehended in a recent raid at two Springdale houses highlight an inconsistency in how such cases are handled.
The cases also reveal a continuing problem with some business owners who hire aliens but then don't pay them, law enforcement and immigration experts said. That happens frequently because the owners know the illegal workers likely will not report them to authorities, they said.
The Springdale raid occurred after a local immigrant advocate tipped police about the squalid conditions where the workers were living after having been promised money to help lay underground cable. More than 30 people had worked for up to a month but had not been paid, according to a federal affidavit.
Five left the area after not being paid, but 26 others couldn't afford to leave and continued to live in the two small houses on East Allen Street.
When members of the local immigration task force arrived at one of the houses at 9:05 a.m. March 26, they found dozens of mattresses spread on the floors. There was no furniture or food in the house, and the heater was not working. The temperature that morning was 45 degrees, according to the affidavit.
The workers had not eaten for more than two days, Ana Hart, executive director of Just Communities, told police after a lawyer contacted her about the situation.
"Where there would be normally a small living room, dining area, all of that was mattresses. Very few blankets or bedding of any kind," Hart said. "To the right, another small room was the same - bedding, mattresses, no furniture. There were probably 15 to 17 people that called that place home. The situation was very inhumane."
The houses had been rented by Marcio De Oliveira for a total of $800 a month, according to the affidavit. De Oliveira owns Molink Underground Construction Services of Ooltewah, Tenn.
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/257195/
