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Lawmen round up 40 alien workers
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Posted on Oct 06 2005
Lawmen arrested 40 aliens who were allegedly working illegally for two construction companies in a raid at a construction site within a Garapan hotel yesterday morning.
CNMI chief prosecutor Jeffrey Moots said the workers include those with expired work permits, as well as displaced garment workers. Some of those arrested were working under tourist status.
The workers’ identities were not immediately available at press time but Moots said the workers are mostly Chinese. He said some of those arrested have been working beyond their authorized work categories, such as waiter.
Armed with a Superior Court warrant, operatives from the Attorney General’s Investigative Unit swooped down on the Saipan offices and work site of BMW Corp. at the Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach yesterday morning, according to Moots.
The Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach has reportedly contracted BMW for a hotel project. During the raid at the construction site, investigators discovered that there were also illegal workers for another company, Mega Power Corp., at the construction site, Moots said.
The chief prosecutor clarified, though, that the hotel had nothing to do with the illegal employment. Moots said that the hotel management cooperated with the AGIU during the raid.
He said the AGO would study the possibility of pressing criminal charges against the contractors for alleged labor and immigration fraud.
AGIU operatives brought the alien workers to the Division of Corrections. Moots said deportation proceedings would be initiated against them. The Superior Court has imposed a $250 bail on each of those arrested.
