13 arrests in Tooele worry Utah's illegals

TOOELE — Maria is undocumented and afraid. She's afraid to go shopping, she's afraid to send her two children to school, she's afraid for her husband, who works in Salt Lake City.

Maria, who gave only her first name, said two of her roommates were among 13 undocumented workers arrested this week at the Tooele IFCO Systems North America facility. The raid was announced Thursday, the same day that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced a comprehensive immigration enforcement strategy.

"I'm afraid for myself, for my husband, for my family," Maria said in Spanish.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at IFCO was part of a national investigation that led to the arrests of 1,187 illegal immigrants at 40 locations across the country.

Tony Yapias of Proyecto Latino de Utah said the Tooele raid has undocumented immigrants from across the state worried. Maria and about a dozen others attended a Spanish-language community meeting Friday at St. Marguerite's Church in Tooele, hoping to gain more information.

The meeting, organized by Tooele resident Ana Lamb, was hosted by Proyecto Latino and the honorary consul of El Salvador, the nation of origin of eight of the arrested illegal immigrants. Authorities also arrested illegal immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Some of those at the meeting were related to, or friends with, the undocumented workers, who federal authorities said were placed in deportation proceedings.

The community activists explained that the raid wasn't aimed at the immigrants. It was part of a year-long investigation into IFCO, a national company.

"McDonald's is big," Maria said. "We go to work without security."

The IFCO investigation led to federal conspiracy charges against seven current and former managers. Two employees also face criminal charges related to fraudulent documents. A federal affidavit alleges that more than half the Houston-based company's employees are suspected undocumented workers. An $80,000 fine was levied against the business after the owner admitted to concealing information about two dozen undocumented immigrants working at the company.

Yapias used the term "epidemic" to describe the current situation. He's been flooded with calls from across the state.

"It spread so fast, like a ripple effect, through every community," he said. "I've been getting calls from all over the place."

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com