I just quit my job today at a restaurant and I haven’t been paid hourly wages consistently since I started working there. I want to file a complaint with the labor board to get my money and now the manager is telling everyone to warn me to think about filing a complaint because if there is an investigation, the mexicans who work in the kitchen, who are illegal immigrants, will be deported back to mexico. i feel sorry for them since they are supporting their families and need this job and i dont want them to be deported. what are the chances that this would happen?

MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ – A raid targeting illegal immigration led to the arrests of 21 Phoenix-area McDonald’s workers Friday, and authorities were still seeking 30 other employees as part of their investigation.
Deputies armed with search warrants raided McDonald’s restaurants in Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa Friday morning.

The McDonald’s locations include:

•McDonald’s 1516 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale
•McDonald’s 3218 South McClintock, Tempe
•McDonald’s 2130 West Southern, Mesa
•McDonald’s 1460 West Southern, Mesa
Arpaio said information developed by his deputies indicates that over 50 employees working at the businesses may be using falsified or stolen identities for the purposes of gaining employment.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says it will take more time to determine whether any of them are illegal immigrants as officials suspect.

Deputies also searched a mansion in Paradise Valley. The mansion is owned by Richard Coulston, who owns the restaurants. Coulston was not arrested.

McDonald’s Corp. referred comment to Coulston’s company, R&L Management. In a statement, the company says people shouldn’t jump to conclusions without all the facts.”The company has trained its managers and hiring personnel regarding proper hiring procedures,” Pace said. “It does not permit the hiring of employees without completing those procedures … Any individuals unable to meet the legal requirements for establishing authorization to work are not hired.”

Pace said the company was cooperating with the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Friday afternoon that McDonald’s employees had been prepped on what to do if they were raided.

Arpaio also said most employees’ records were not kept at the store, but at the Coulston’s lawyer’s office.

Arpaio said deputies were tipped off in November to the McDonald’s they raided by a caller to their illegal immigration hot line, and the tipster alleged several employees bragged about being illegal immigrants.

Deputies used government databases to identify 51 workers who appear to be illegal workers, and were looking for the 30 outstanding suspects.

County officials said if any of the workers turns out to be an illegal immigrant, it could be their fourth civil case under the employer sanctions law, which penalizes employers for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The law, which is more than two years old, carries license suspensions and revocations for those who knowingly make illegal hires and is designed to reduce the economic incentive for immigrants to cross the border.

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northeastvalley/paradisevalley/story/21-arrested-after-raid-of-4-McDonald-s/rB1Qa5lZr0CxtRPn3z-gmw.cspx

Identity theft linked to illegal immigration

Apr. 23, 2008 06:58 PM
McClatchy Newspapers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Nobody likes getting a letter from the IRS. So imagine Amanda Bien’s reaction last Valentine’s Day when the agency wrote to demand $3,300 in back taxes.

For jobs she never worked. Five of them. In multiple states.

A Lenexa, Kan., Taco Bell. A Wendy’s restaurant. Two Target stores, one in California. The Engineered Air manufacturing plant in De Soto, Kan. Someone, somewhere, got Bien’s name and Social Security number and gave it a workout.

A 28-year-old illegal immigrant was later arrested at the De Soto plant and faces ID theft charges.

Though illegal immigrants aren’t the only ones stealing identities, cases like Bien’s illustrate the inability of disparate government agencies to tackle the problem.

While lawmakers in Washington debate ways to crack down on illegal immigration, the market for false documents and stolen Social Security numbers is booming.

Particularly vulnerable, authorities say, are legal residents with Hispanic last names. Or, as in Bien’s case, names that could sound Hispanic.

As politicians know and Bien is finding out, it’s a problem that defies easy solutions.

The IRS may suspect that multiple people are using the same Social Security number, but the agency doesn’t investigate ID theft. Local police and prosecutors cannot deport illegal immigrants they arrest.”I feel like nobody’s listening,” said Bien, 23, of Ottawa, Kan. “If this can happen to me, it can happen to anybody. And if we don’t do something about it now, what’s going to happen in 10 years?”

Federal estimates indicate that nearly 10 million Americans become victims of identity theft each year. Officials can’t say how many of those identities are being used by illegal workers, but prosecutors in Kansas say they see more cases of illegal immigrants using fake credentials every year.

It mirrors an increase in overall cases related to illegal immigration. The Kansas U.S. attorney’s office received 18 such cases in 1997; in 2007, the number was 106.

Experts expect the trend to continue, and they’re finding ID theft in surprising places. Last fall, U.S. prosecutors in Missouri charged five noncitizens with ID theft after they were found working in the Kansas City Federal Building’s cafeteria.”We know there are thousands and thousands of people working here who aren’t even supposed to be here,” said Brent Anderson, assistant U.S. attorney for Kansas. “There is rampant ID theft going on … and I’m afraid that given the situation we’re in right now, this is just the beginning.”
Source: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/23/20080423identity-theft0423-ON.html
Do you think your childrens identity is safe?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHQ9sg4LRvc