ICE raid nets five

The Associated Press
Sunday, July 6, 2008

HOUSTON - The owner and four supervisors of a rag factory raided last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been charged with knowingly hiring and employing undocumented workers.
U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle said that the five were involved in a pattern and practice of hiring undocumented workers and knowingly accepting false documents as proof of citizenship.

More than 160 suspected illegal immigrants working in Action Rags USA, a hot, cluttered factory in north Houston, were detained last week in one of the largest immigration raids in the city in nearly two years.

About 70 percent of those detained last week were female - eight of whom were pregnant. Two minors were released to members of their family. The detainees are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.