The Justice Department issued the following statement.
U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, joined by Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Matt Albence, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Acting Special Agent in Charge Gilbert Trill, and U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Rafiq Ahmad announced today the unsealing of indictments returned by a Federal Grand Jury in the Southern District of Mississippi against four individuals who were managers, supervisors, or human resources personnel at companies where criminal and administrative search warrants were executed in August 2019 and 680 illegal aliens were detained.
“This office has a successful history of prosecuting employers for violating our immigration laws, and today marks another step in ensuring that justice is fairly and impartially done, no matter the law-breaker. I want to thank our partners at ICE Homeland Security Investigations and our office’s federal prosecutors for doggedly pursuing these criminal violations. The indictments unsealed today mark the beginning, not the end, of our investigations and prosecutions. Rest assured that we will continue to pursue criminal wrongdoers and enforce our criminal laws wherever the evidence may take us,” said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.
“The results of this ongoing criminal investigation illustrate the importance of strong interior enforcement. The arrests made last year pursuant to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s execution of more than a dozen search warrants, have thus far yielded 126 indictments, 117 criminal arrests and 73 convictions. In total, more than 403 individuals falsified social security information in order to gain illegal employment in the United States,” said acting ICE deputy director and senior official performing the duties of the director Matthew T. Albence. “Companies who intentionally or knowingly base their business model on an illegal workforce deprive law abiding citizens and lawful immigrants of employment opportunities, which are especially critical as our economy looks to recover from the challenges faced by the COVID-19 pandemic. ICE Homeland Security Investigations will continue its commitment to uphold the laws Congress has passed. These laws protect jobs for the legal workforce, reduce incentives for illegal migration, and eliminate unequitable financial advantages for businesses employing illegal immigrants.”
According to the indictment, Salvador Delgado-Nieves, 57, of Pelahatchie, Mississippi, was charged with three counts of harboring illegal aliens, three counts of assisting illegal aliens in falsely representing themselves to be United States citizens, three counts of assisting illegal aliens in obtaining false Social Security cards, and one count of making a false statement to law enforcement officials when he denied having hired illegal aliens at A&B, Inc. in Pelahatchie.
Delgado-Nieves faces up to 74 years in federal prison and $2.5 million in fines for these criminal violations, as Counts 1-6 carry a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each violation, Counts 7-9 carry a maximum of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, and Count 10 carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the indictment, Iris Villalon, 44, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was indicted on one count of harboring an illegal alien, and one count of making false statements when she denied that she had hired illegal aliens for employment with A&B, Inc., in Pelahatchie, and one count of causing false employer quarterly wage reports to be filed when she knew the Social Security number represented in such reports was not assigned by the Social Security Administration to that specific illegal alien employee listed therein.
Villalon faces up to 20 years in prison and $750,000 in fines for these criminal violations, as Count 1 carries a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and Counts 2-3 carry a maximum of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
According to the indictment, Carolyn Johnson, 50, of Kosciuskio, Mississippi, was a Human Resource Manager and Aubrey “Bart” Willis, 39, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, was the Manager at Pearl River Foods LLC in Carthage, Mississippi. Johnson was indicted on six felony counts of harboring an illegal alien as well as one count of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Willis was indicted on five counts of harboring an illegal alien.
The indictment charges both defendants with harboring illegal aliens following the execution of federal warrants at the Pearl River Foods facility on August 7, 2019. Johnson was also indicted for fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a grant from the State of Mississippi for reimbursement for on the job training for employees of Pearl River Foods. As set forth in the indictment, Johnson submitted claims for reimbursement for on the job training that never occurred.
If convicted, Johnson faces a maximum of up to 84 years in prison and $2.25 million in fines, with Counts 1-6 carrying a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each violation, Count 7 carrying a maximum of twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each violation, and Counts 8-9 carrying a mandatory minimum of 2 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each violation.
If convicted, Willis faces a maximum of up to 50 years and $1.25 million in fines, Counts 1-5 carrying a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each violation.
Villalon, Johnson and Willis will appear for arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Linda R. Anderson today at 1:30 p.m. Delgado-Nieves will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Ball at 2:30 pm today for his arraignment. The case against Johnson and Willis has been assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III. The cases against Villalon and Delgado-Nieves have been assigned to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves.
These cases were investigated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lynn Murray.
On August 7, 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, executed multiple federal criminal and administrative search warrants at seven sites across central Mississippi. This was the largest single-state worksite enforcement operation in our nation’s history, resulting in the detention of 680 illegal aliens and the prosecution of 119 illegal aliens for stealing the identities of American citizens, falsifying immigration documents, fraudulently claiming to be United States citizens, and illegal re-entering the country after have been deported, among other federal crimes.
The investigations of federal criminal violations continue.
The public is reminded that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
13 comments:
It's a start. These seem to be the Human Resources personnel. You can't tell me the higher ups didn't know what was going on. Keep up the good work Mr. Hurst.
While this news is impressive. Any visit to your local retailer will betray that 600 more illegals simply arrived to replace the ones arrested. They too will have a half dozen anchors in tow. And that the ones arrested in the raid were released back into the population instead of incarcerated and/or deported.
Amazing that (so far) all the office personnel in Canton (PECO Foods - both locations) fly under the radar. Not the first time for this same outfit.
Also continuing to fly under the radar are Catholic Charities, as an organization, as well as local Catholic churches that are guilty of aiding, abetting, assisting and harboring.
The US citizen children will vote for whichever party promises amnesty for their parents. They need to all be deported ASAP! They are a burden!
This is great news.
It's 2020 slavery.
Give these employers the maximum penalty.
Such employers are more to blame than the folks trying to get into the USA for a better life.
But since there's no statues of
Salvador Delgado-Nieves, Iris Villalon, Carolyn Johnson and Aubrey "Bart" Willis . . . I doubt the local & national "news" outlets will even consider these "allegations" worthy of a 30 second comment.
( I won't mention the terrorists that sneak in with these illegal masses and the fact they will use every opportunity to kill us ).
Remember September 11 ?
You need to go up to Fulton Street in Canton and see the overflow parking on the street outside of the plant proper. CPD has begun towing folks.
I believe it is a common opinion that if the Feds would focus on the employers, this issue would resolve itself. Why they won't is hard to figure.
"You need to go up to Fulton Street in Canton and see the overflow parking on the street outside of the plant proper. CPD has begun towing folks."
That particular several block area was carved out of the city and is in the county. But, more than a few of the employees leave their rides over next door in the trailer park...up on blocks.
Those who profit from the illegals' cheap labor obviously pull the strings needed to protect their continued use of illegals. What ever happened to the anti-illegal alien worker legislation that was passed here -6:50? I recall that the governor trashed the bill due to pressure from hospitality and agriculture business owners and the press and media just let the issue fade.
The ugly truth is that you can’t avoid using some maintenance service like yard work or janitorial or home repair that doesn’t bring with them someone who may not be legal.
The irony is that many who vocally support anti- immigration policies have “ help” at home they know are illegal just as Our President has had on his properties.
I even know some who pay illegals and use that money as a pad for employee costs... money their legal employees never saw as it was used as paying into Social Security or employee insurance...or so they brag.
We always been able to reform immigration Starting with making employment at less than minimum wage extremely difficult. That would not require billions for a wall. We pay for a wall. Business profits from cheap labor and they can afford a wall.
Notice now that no one is flocking here to work. We have an invisible wall stopping illegals... no jobs and contagion.
Mississippi also has an e-verify program. I get why Jim Hood didn’t enforce the laws, but what about our new state AG? Will she actually enforce state law and require these cheaters to pay US citizens good wages?
10:08 - Get your cap turned around. Not sure what you mean by 'good wages'. Mississippi has no minimum wage law (therefore we defer to federal minimum) and has no authority to enforce federal immigration law. You need to feed that mouse better cheese.
@2:49 concerning the Catholic Church Charities...I'm sure they are involved in the illegal immigration also, but the REAL money is in refugees. These are the last #s I could find. This is what the Business/nonprofits get paid on a per head basis...just to help them navigate the Government programs. This money isn't spent on the refugees...these are fees the nonprofits get to keep the numbers coming.
I remember seeing the 60 Minutes segment when it 1st aired about the Church (Methodist???) Resettling the 1st Somalian immigrants to Minneapolis...sometime in the 90s...60 minutes usually has 3 segments per episode...this was one of them... dont forget Minneapolis Mayor darling Police Officer who shot the Australian woman who called Police because she heard an assault outside her home. She made the mistake of walking up to drivers side of Police car...the 1st Somali Police Officer...been cop 2 years?...he was in the passenger seat, she walked up to driver side...he drew his weapon while seated, fired inside the car..across his partner, seated behind the wheel, through the open window... You ever been in a vehicle when weapon fired inside...temporary total hearing loss (probably some permanent), smoke, danger of striking his partner. He got 12 years, I don't think he ever made a single statement...it was big news 2 years ago, especially the Australian angle..
The largest one received 1/2 a Billion dollars from Government Grants in 2015 + 1/4 of a Billion in Contributions???
International Rescue Committee (IRC)....Form 990, 2015
Contributions and Grants: $730,809,685
Government grants (contributions): $493,570,089 (67.5 percent)
World Relief Corporation (WR)....Form 990, 2015 Contributions and Grants: $66,262,886 Government Grants: $46,776,420 (70.6 percent)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).....No Form 990 could be found. In their latest financial statement (year ended December 31, 2016): Operating revenues, gains and other support: $143,986,241 Government contracts and grants revenue: $95,256,272 (66.2 percent)
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)...Form 990, 2016 Total Revenue: $59,441,100 Government Grants: $53,615,872 (90.2 percent)
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)....Form 990, 2016 Contributions and Grants: $67,228,228 Government grants (contributions): $64,666,482 (96.2 percent)
https://cis.org/Rush/Private-Refugee-Resettlement-Agencies-Mostly-Funded-Government
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