All 34 suspected illegal immigrants were arrested while working on the new Tennessee Air National guard facility. News of the arrests was enough to give air travelers we spoke with a case of homeland insecurity. "Illegal immigrants should not be working on a secure installation," said Darryl Johnson.
Federal officials say all the immigrants are from Mexico. They've been taken to an East Memphis facility for processing and face deportation.
When asked if security of the new Tennessee Air National Guard facility was compromised , Temple Black, spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said, "Not that we know. That's why it's still under investigation. We'll find out as we go along."
Federal investigators are still trying to determine which contractors are at fault for making the hires. The issue is complicated because there are four primary contractors and dozens of subcontractors working on the $215 million dollar project.
At least two of the contractors we spoke with, APAC and Reliable, say they do background checks and none of the contractors work for them.
A spokesman for Alberici construction company says they do identification checks and haven't been notified by federal authorities.
Flintco didn't return several calls.
During fiscal year 2007, ICE arrested 863 individuals on criminal charges in work site investigations, and administratively apprehended another 4,077 illegal workers on immigration violations. These arrests have increased significantly when compared to the 160 criminal arrests and 685 administrative arrests ICE made in fiscal year 2004.
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