This past summer, many restaurant owners in the Northeast region were charged

This past summer, many restaurant owners in the Northeast region were charged by the federal government for hiring and harboring illegal immigrants. Many of them have hired attorneys to clear their names. In Long Island, Qing Lin, who is an owner of a buffet restaurant, said that he did not intend to hire illegal immigrants. Since he provided housing for his employees, he was also charged with harboring illegal immigrants. He is confused about the situation. Immigrant attorneys suggest that employers should follow the procedures in hiring employees in order to avoid breaking the law.

According to Lin, the dormitory he used for his employees was raided by the INS and the ICE. He was not there when the raid happened, and the dormitory was not registered under his name. When he got there to talk to the officials, he invited them back to the restaurant and was able to get his employees released. However, during a second raid in early October, ICE officials arrested Lin was at his home.

Other restaurants owners from Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey were also arrested and charged with a series of crimes and had to appear before the Federal Court at the Southern District of New York. None of them plead guilty.

According to Lin, immigrant workers employed at his restaurants are recommended by employment agencies and all the employees were able to produce either work visas or social security cards for their employees. However, many of the owners have limited understanding of immigration laws and therefore would not be able to determine if the paper work is genuine.

Lin discovered that his employees did not have legal status only after his arrest. Addressing the charge that he was harboring illegal immigrants, he said that new immigrants who work in Long Island and upstate New York don’t speak much English and can’t drive. They would not be able to rent an apartment on their own, so the employers help them out; it is part of their employment practice, which is carried out openly. The employees are free to do whatever they want, he stated, so there is no harboring involved.

According to an immigration attorney, if the employers do not knowingly employ illegal immigrants, they should not be charged. The illegal immigrants’ entry to the United States has very little to do with their employers and the employers are not part of any immigration conspiracy or fraud. The INS enforcement method has a widespread negative effect on the industry. The immigration attorney suggests that employers follow proper hiring procedures such has providing I-9 forms.

By Qian Cao, World Journal, 18 November 2010. Translated from Chinese by Connie Yik Kong.