ICE releases a list of MN worksite immigration audits
Last October, Minnesota Public Radio News made a request under the Freedom of Information Act to Immigration and Customs Enforcement asking for information on Minnesota employers fined for employing illegal immigrants in the past ten years. We requested company name, amount of fine imposed, date and number of workers affected.
A story that ran last week Chipotle exec responds to Minn. immigration audit
dug into what's going on with worksite audits and mentioned MPR News had yet to receive this information from ICE.
Yesterday ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer sent a list of four companies. Here is the complete document:
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ICE records date to 2003, information prior to the creation of ICE is not available; however a FOIA request for such may be possible. Attached is the list of closed I-9 cases for Minnesota for FY 2003-2010, that resulted in administrative fines. There are no cases in Minnesota which resulted in a criminal investigation during this period.
FISCAL YEAR
EMPLOYER
STATE
FINAL ORDER AMOUNT
Case Status
2003
WOK & ROLL OF MSP, INC.
MN
21,400.00
Closed
2003
C/O MCDONALD'S CORPORATION OFFICE
MN
6,915.00
Closed
2010
KK CAFE
MN
22,959.75
Closed
2010
KOCH FOOD OF CINCINNATI, LLC
MN
3,740.00
Closed
Please note: this a list of closed cases. Often a case cannot be officially closed until all administrative details have been completed. As a result, these cases can sometimes take a long time before they are termed officially closed.
The caveat at the end means there are some omissions. I noticed ABM, a janitorial services company that dismissed 1,200 janitors after a "quiet raid." Read the 2009 story here. Either ABM wasn't fined, or it is still within its window for an appeal, so the case isn't considered closed.
It may take a long time for the paper trail to reveal what we already know from ICE:
· In FY2010 ICE had a record year for worksite enforcement
Update 2/9: ICE now says the worksite immigration audit list it gave MPR News is incorrect.