U.S. - 9 suspected illegal immigrants plead guilty

By HOLBROOK MOHR -
JACKSON, Miss. -- Nine people rounded up in the nation's largest workplace raid on suspected illegal immigrants pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal identity fraud charges and were sentenced to time served.
Nearly 600 workers at Howard Industries' transformer plant in Laurel were detained Aug. 25 when dozens of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the factory.
The nine people charged with identity fraud were accused of working at the plant under the names and Social Security numbers of other people - information that had been reported stolen in some cases, according to court records.
The nine pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg during separate hearings Wednesday. They were sentenced to time served and face deportation, said Sheila Wilbanks, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office. They agreed to cooperate with authorities.
"They will be turned over to ICE and ICE will handle the administrative procedures of deportation," Wilbanks said.
A federal public defender, John Weber, who represented the workers, did not immediately respond to a message left Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Weber said in the past that the workers faced up to 17 years in prison had they been convicted and sentenced to the maximum on all three of the original charges - aggravated identity theft, use or possession of a fraudulent alien registration card and use of a Social Security number belonging to someone else. The trial was scheduled to begin Dec. 15.
It's not clear how they allegedly obtained the fraudulent identities. However, several people in Laurel who acknowledged being illegal immigrants told The AP after the raid that it was easy to buy fraudulent documents in the area through word of mouth.
Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman, said the investigation continues and "we will go where the evidence leads us."
"Fraudulent documents may be used to obtain financial benefits and entitlements intended for U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and to obtain unauthorized employment," she said. "Those who are engaged in document fraud should know that we will continue pursuing these types of investigations."
An advocacy group for illegal immigrants condemned the charges.
"The connotations of the charges against them is that somehow they were involved in stealing the identities for nefarious purposes," said Bill Chandler, executive director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. "These folks were getting identification so they could support their families. In my view, supporting your family is not a crime."
Most of the others detained in the raid were sent to a Louisiana detention facility to await hearings and deportation. More than 100 - mostly women with children - were fitted with monitoring devices and ordered to appear in court.
Gonzalez said 413 of the illegal immigrants have been deported and 23 left the country voluntarily.
The operation was the largest single workplace raid in ICE history and targeted one of Mississippi's most successful private business. Howard Industries is the largest employer in Jones County and makes products ranging from computers to medical supplies. The company's corporate headquarters also was raided, but no executives have been charged with crimes.
Howard Industries has repeatedly declined comment. However, the company issued a statement in the past that says it "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs. It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants."