Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested more than 280 employees Wednesday at CVE Technology Group and four CVE staffing companies in Allen, Texas, a northern suburb of Dallas.
In a news release ICE said:
HSI arrested on administrative immigration violations more than 280 CVE company employees who were unlawfully working in the United States at this telecommunications equipment-repair business.
This ongoing investigation began after HSI received multiple tips that the company may have knowingly hired illegal aliens, and that many of the individuals employed at CVE were using fraudulent identification documents. In January 2019, HSI began an audit of CVE’s I-9 Forms, which confirmed numerous hiring irregularities.
According to The Dallas Morning News, the HIS Dallas office said that this operation was its single largest worksite enforcement operation since 2008, when 398 people were arrested at a slaughterhouse in Iowa.
ICE said it will determine whether those arrested will remain in custody or be considered for humanitarian release pending removal hearings.
HIS Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger said:
Businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens create an unfair advantage over their competing businesses…In addition, they take jobs away from U.S. citizens and legal residents, and they create an atmosphere poised for exploiting their illegal workforce.
ICE did not make it known whether any charges would be brought against CVE employees or executives who were responsible for the hiring of unauthorized workers.
Criminal employers can be reported to ICE at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (347-2423) or online.
The full ICE news release can be found here.
