Doughnut exec pleads guilty in immigration case

Aug. 29, 2008

DALLAS (AP) - The president of family-owned Shipley Do-Nuts has pleaded guilty to a federal charge in one of the latest crackdowns on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Lawrence W. Shipley III pleaded guilty Thursday in Houston to a misdemeanor charge of continuing to employ unauthorized workers and was placed on six months probation, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

Shipley Do-Nuts - which includes Shipley Do-Nut Flour and Supply Co. and Shipley Properties - was expected to plead guilty next week to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, ICE said. The company would forfeit $1.3 million and be placed on probation, ICE said.

The case is one of several brought recently against employers and managers who hire illegal immigrants. Since October 2007, ICE agents have made more then 1,000 criminal arrests - of workers and others- connected to worksite investigations. Out of those arrests, 116 involved company owners, managers, supervisors or human resources employees.

Immigrant advocates have long criticized ICE, saying the agency too often targets undocumented workers while letting the employers who hire them go unscathed.