The federal government is escalating the pressure on 20 workers, arrested at a logistics company in Memphis in November. It claims that the workers gained access to a secure airport area and is filing criminal charges, which could result in five years in prison.
More investigations are expected next year in Tennessee, according to a highly placed federal agent. The new charges allege that the 20 undocumented immigrants gained employment with the use of fraudulent identification. Similar state charges were also filed in November, with deportation from the US also on the cards. The immigrant workers, who all apparently come from Central America and Mexico, were arrested on 28 November by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, following a coordinated operation with federal immigration officials in a unit of Seattle’s Expeditors International, based in the Memphis area.
The 20 undocumented immigrants were arrested and charged with making use of false documents to gain employment at the company via staffing agency, Provide Staffing Services. The severity of the case has been ramped up by the federal charges, as while an early release is quite common in the state system, a much longer sentence is usually served for federal prisoners.
US Attorney, D Michael Dunavant, announced the new charges while speaking to the media at the downtown federal building, surrounded by Tennessee Highway Patrol officials as well as some of from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division.