More than 300 Illegal Immigrants 
Seized in Raids on Wal-Mart Stores

CHUCK BARTELS / AP 24oct03

[2nd AP article below | Can Wal-Mart Get Any Bigger? (Yes, a lot bigger... Here's how)]

Wal-Mart Profits: article 1, article 2

LITTLE ROCK, Ark—Wal-Mart had direct knowledge of immigration violations involving its cleaning contractors at stores across the country, federal law enforcement sources said.

Federal agents raided Wal Mart's headquarters and 60 of its stores across the nation Thursday, arresting more than 300 illegal workers in an immigration crackdown at the world's biggest retailer. In New Jersey, 13 people were arrested at stores in Old Bridge and Union.

The workers were members of cleaning crews hired by outside contractors, but federal law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Wal-Mart knew of the violations. They cited recordings of meetings and conversations among Wal-Mart executives, managers and contractors.

"We have seen no evidence of this from the INS, and, if that turns out to be true, we will cooperate fully with law enforcement officials," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams said.

Kerry Gill, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Newark office, said the 13 aliens arrested in New Jersey will face deportation proceedings before an immigration judge at an unspecified date.

"I can confirm that (immigration) officers arrested 13 illegal aliens at Wal-Mart locations in New Jersey as part of an ongoing worksite investigation," he said Thursday. "Individuals who have violated U.S. immigration laws by entering and working here illegally are subject to arrest and deportation."

The workers were arrested as they finished their night shifts at Wal-Mart stores in 21 states. Agents also hauled away several boxes of documents from an executive's office at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville.

An employer can face civil and criminal penalties for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants or failing to comply with certain employee recordkeeping regulations.

Wal-Mart Stores had sales last year of $244.5 billion. The company has about 1.1 million employees in the United States, and it uses more than 100 third-party contractors to clean more than 700 stores nationwide, Williams said.

"We require each of these contractors to use only legal workers," she said.

The law enforcement sources said the investigation grew out of earlier probes of Wal-Mart cleaning crew contractors in 1998 and 2001.

All the arrested workers were in the country illegally, said Garrison Courtney, a spokesman with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They were detained at local immigration offices. Those who had no criminal record were released with instructions to appear before immigration judges.

Wal-Mart is not the first big company to be targeted in an immigration investigation. Six managers at Tyson Foods, based one town away from Wal-Mart in Springdale, were charged in an immigrant-smuggling case in 2001.

One defendant shot himself to death a few months after being charged, and two managers entered guilty pleas early in the case. A jury acquitted the poultry company and three other managers.

Ulysses A. Yannas, an analyst with the investment firm Buckman, Buckman and Reid, said it is too much to expect Wal-Mart to keep track of all of its vendors' workers. But he said the investigation could present a problem for the company.

"It is a question of what else it might bring out. These are long, drawn-out processes," Yannas said.

Top Wal-Mart officials learned of Thursday's sweep when store managers began calling headquarters for guidance in dealing with the raids.

Courtney said agents searched the office of one of Wal-Mart's executives. Williams, the spokeswoman, said they spent several hours in the office of a "mid-level manager" at Wal-Mart's headquarters and carried away several boxes of paperwork.

She said she did not know if any other Wal-Mart administrative offices were searched.

The arrests were made at stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Suzanne Gamboa in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story.

300 illegal immigrants arrested at Wal-Marts

SUZANNE GAMBOA / AP 23oct03

WASHINGTON—Federal officials arrested more than 300 illegal workers at 61 Wal-Mart stores across the country early Thursday morning and searched the Arkansas office of one of the retail chain's corporate executives, a federal official said.

The workers arrested were members of cleaning crews which the company hired through a contractor. All were in the country illegally, said a federal official on condition of anonymity.

The arrests occurred as the workers were finishing their night shift at stores in 21 states.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams confirmed the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is investigating and that a number of stores were raided Thursday morning.

"They arrested a number of members of the floor cleaning crews. They are (employed by) outside contractors; they're not Wal-Mart associates," Williams said.

She said the company would give more information later.

The arrests stem from a November 1998 investigation done in conjunction with the Pennsylvania attorney general's office. That investigation also targeted contractors and subcontractors used by Wal-Mart to clean stores.

Employers are required to check forms known as I-9's, filled out by every new employee, and keep the forms for a specified period of time. An employer can face civil and criminal penalties for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants or failing to comply with the I-9 regulations.

The workers arrested were detained at local immigration offices, the official said. If they had no previous criminal record, they were released with notices to appear before immigration judges.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., is the world's largest retailer.

Its shares were up 4 cents at $58.28 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The states where arrests were made are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

source: http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/wal24.html 25oct03