21 People Arrested During Immigration Raids at Arizona McDonald's

[Jeanfromfillmore]

21 People Arrested During Immigration Raids at Arizona McDonald's
AP
Those arrested during the raid of four McDonald's in Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa were being held on suspicion of identity theft.
PHOENIX -- A raid targeting illegal immigration led to the arrests of 21 Phoenix-area McDonald's workers Friday, and authorities were still seeking 30 other employees as part of their investigation.
Those arrested during the raid of four McDonald's in Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa were being held on suspicion of identity theft. It will take more time to determine whether any of them are illegal immigrants as officials suspect, said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Deputies also searched a mansion in the tony Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley owned by Richard Coulston, who owns the restaurants, Arpaio said. Coulston was not arrested.
Deputies could be seen on local television stations swarming around Coulston's mansion, and McDonald's workers were shown crying and hugging each other.
It's a shame that Friday's arrests had to happen at the fast-food restaurant, which is "more than just a business," Arpaio said.
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/26...est=latestnews

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Two more arrests in McDonald's case
by KTAR.com (March 30th, 2010 @ 12:16pm)
PHOENIX -- Two more suspects have been arrested in an ongoing investigation into alleged identity theft and forgery charges at McDonald's restaurants in the Valley.
Arley Lopez, 30, and Jose Prado, 37, were arrested Monday night at 510 S. Extension in Mesa, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies believe that Lopez was a store manager at 1460 W. Southern in Mesa and that Prado is a general manager for McDonald's, according to investigators. Both have been employed by McDonald's since 1999.
The arrests followed raids last Friday at four separate McDonald's restaurants and a Paradise Valley home of the owner of some McDonald's franchises. During the raids, deputies arrested 21 illegal immigrants on identity theft and forgery charges. They said they were looking for 30 more.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has stated that illegal immigrant investigations will increase in the future because nearly 900 sworn deputies are in the process of receiving training on enforcement of immigration laws.
"We will continue to hit the illegal immigration problem on all fronts," Arpaio said.
Despite claims from open borders activists and critics that many illegals arrested are not violent criminals, Arpaio said his jail currently houses nearly 100 illegal aliens on charges of murder and other violent crimes.
http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1279217

MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ – Two more suspects were arrested Monday night in connection to a raid targeting illegal immigration at four Valley McDonald’s and one home last Friday.

Twenty-one McDonald's workers have already been arrested and now authorities were still seeking 28 other employees as part of their investigation.

Deputies armed with search warrants raided McDonald’s restaurants in Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa Friday morning.

MCSO said Tuesday the two new arrests include Arley Lopez and Jose Prado.

They were reportedly arrested in Mesa.

The McDonald’s locations include:
• McDonald’s 1516 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale
• McDonald’s 3218 South McClintock, Tempe
• McDonald’s 2130 West Southern, Mesa
• McDonald’s 1460 West Southern, Mesa
Sheriff's deputies believe that Lopez was a store manager at the 1460 West Southern location in Mesa and Prado is a general manager for the company and that both have been employed by McDonalds since 1999.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said information developed by his deputies indicated that over 50 employees working at the businesses may have been using falsified or stolen identities for the purposes of gaining employment.

Arpaio said it will take more time to determine whether any of them are illegal immigrants as officials suspect.

Deputies also searched a mansion in Paradise Valley. The mansion is owned by Richard Coulston, who owns the restaurants. Coulston was not arrested.
McDonald's Corp. referred comment to Coulston's company, R&L Management. In a statement, the company says people shouldn't jump to conclusions without all the facts.
"The company has trained its managers and hiring personnel regarding proper hiring procedures," Pace said. "It does not permit the hiring of employees without completing those procedures ... Any individuals unable to meet the legal requirements for establishing authorization to work are not hired."
Pace said the company was cooperating with the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Friday afternoon that McDonald's employees had been prepped on what to do if they were raided.
Arpaio also said most employees' records were not kept at the store, but at the Coulston's lawyer's office.
Arpaio said deputies were tipped off in November to the McDonald's they raided by a caller to their illegal immigration hot line, and the tipster alleged several employees bragged about being illegal immigrants.
Deputies used government databases to identify 51 workers who appear to be illegal workers, and were looking for the outstanding suspects.
County officials said if any of the workers turns out to be an illegal immigrant, it could be their fourth civil case under the employer sanctions law, which penalizes employers for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The law, which is more than two years old, carries license suspensions and revocations for those who knowingly make illegal hires and is designed to reduce the economic incentive for immigrants to cross the border.
http://www.abc15.com/content/news/no...RPn3z-gmw.cspx

[ilbegone]

This is exactly what is needed.

Deport illegals when found, but spend a lot more time pursuing and punishing enabling employers and "blind eye" dispensers of social services.

Names at the operative level and the trail back to named top managers, that's what's needed.

[Rim05]

It would be helpful if some of these fast food places were closed down. There is an intersection not so far from me that has 6 or 7 fast food places within the 4 corners of the intersection. How can people eat ALL the time?

[PochoPatriot]

Lately, I have seen large signs at certain fast food outlets advertising E-Verify. I thought this was a step forward, until I spoke with the manager. I played the part of an outraged La Raza-ist, and asked him how we can do this to his Raza. He simply smiled sheepishly, and apologized. You can draw whatever conclusion you want from this.

[Twoller]

I really feel compelled to take this opportunity to reiterate. The most fundamental attraction for illegal immigrants here in the US is the ability to come and go as they please. As long as we keep waiting around to bump into illegal immigrants by accident, we are going to continue to have problems with illegal immigration.

And also, the most fundamental problem with hiring illegal immigrants is when the people doing the hiring are themselves immigrants of one kind or another. This is where we need to police the people doing the hiring. Illegal immigrants, especially those from non-English speaking countries can't get jobs unless they are hired by somebody who speaks their language. This is most likely to be either an anchor baby, or some immigrant who is in the country legally.

It doesn't make sense to persecute US companies who happen to hire illegals when it is the legal immigrants or anchor babies in the system who make it possible. We need these companies to hire legitimate US citizens and if they won't, then they need to go out of business. Immigrants who own businesses who do the same thing need to be thrown out of the country. McDonalds is a huge US company and it makes no sense to persecute the company for the practices of a few employees. Of course they are liable, but they should be brought to halter in a different spirit than if the company is actually owned by an immigrant. Liability should be applied based on who is doing the hiring. Are the interviews conducted in English? There's a big clue as to what is going on there. If a company allows job interviews to be conducted in anything but English, then they must be complicit.

[PochoPatriot]

Originally Posted by Twoller

And also, the most fundamental problem with hiring illegal immigrants is when the people doing the hiring are themselves immigrants of one kind or another.

This is true. Once an immigrant (legal or otherwise) or an anchor baby is in a position where he/she makes hiring decisions any American citizen can expect to not get hired. My son faced this when he entered the employment market, a 16 year-old boy of reasonable intelligence both eager and willing to work could not get a job at any fast food outlet within a reasonable distance from his home. My daughter, on the other hand, has learned from his misfortunes, and has learned Spanish in order to get work when she turns 16 in November. It is utterly reprehensible that an American citizen has to learn a foreign language in order to get employment in at the entry level.

Originally Posted by Twoller

This is where we need to police the people doing the hiring. Illegal immigrants, especially those from non-English speaking countries can't get jobs unless they are hired by somebody who speaks their language. This is most likely to be either an anchor baby, or some immigrant who is in the country legally.

The real problem is that these people are NOT loyal to their new country. This is THE between the immigrants of previous generations, and the new immigrant of this generation. Much of this can be attributed to the advances of technology. Today, it is not very hard to keep track of what's happening in their home country. Back in the day, it was virtually impossible to do that. Therefore, the ties to home country are never completely cut, and their loyalties remain with the home country. This is why many of the south of the border immigrants and their children still think of themselves as Mexican, Honduran, Guatemalan, etc.

Originally Posted by Twoller

It doesn't make sense to persecute US companies who happen to hire illegals when it is the legal immigrants or anchor babies in the system who make it possible. We need these companies to hire legitimate US citizens and if they won't, then they need to go out of business. Immigrants who own businesses who do the same thing need to be thrown out of the country.

No, it doesn't make sense to persecute these companies, but it makes sense to prosecute them. The way to deal with business is to hit their bottom line. This means fines and penalties for each illegal alien hired. This means publishing their names, and allowing the populace to deal with them in the best way possible. Ultimately, when their bottom line is hurt, they will change.

Originally Posted by Twoller

McDonalds is a huge US company and it makes no sense to persecute the company for the practices of a few employees. Of course they are liable, but they should be brought to halter in a different spirit than if the company is actually owned by an immigrant. Liability should be applied based on who is doing the hiring. Are the interviews conducted in English? There's a big clue as to what is going on there. If a company allows job interviews to be conducted in anything but English, then they must be complicit.

No, McDonalds is systemically involved in the hiring of illegal aliens. As such they must be punished as a whole for what goes on in either their franchises or corporately owned stores. As I said above, only until their bottom line is hurt, they will continue to wink at managers and franchise owners that continue to violate the law.

The other thing that will help this country is to make English the OFFICIAL language of the United States. Meaning that all official business must be done in English. I have changed my view on this. Prior I wanted an English preference, but I have begun to see the need to make English the official language. Without a common language, our country and culture will continue to balkanize. I have recently seen this in the community that I am currently living in which is predominately Asian. The teens PREFER to speak their "home" languages over English with their peers. English must be made the official language of the United States.

[Twoller]

Originally Posted by PochoPatriot

....

The real problem is that these people are NOT loyal to their new country. This is THE between the immigrants of previous generations, and the new immigrant of this generation. Much of this can be attributed to the advances of technology. Today, it is not very hard to keep track of what's happening in their home country. Back in the day, it was virtually impossible to do that. Therefore, the ties to home country are never completely cut, and their loyalties remain with the home country. This is why many of the south of the border immigrants and their children still think of themselves as Mexican, Honduran, Guatemalan, etc.

....

The other thing that will help this country is to make English the OFFICIAL language of the United States. Meaning that all official business must be done in English. I have changed my view on this. Prior I wanted an English preference, but I have begun to see the need to make English the official language. Without a common language, our country and culture will continue to balkanize. I have recently seen this in the community that I am currently living in which is predominately Asian. The teens PREFER to speak their "home" languages over English with their peers. English must be made the official language of the United States.

Good observations, but I have some exceptions about the commonly held view that immigrants in the past were somehow more patriotic.

The truth is, if that were the case, we wouldn't be having the problems we are having now. It is the these same immigrants and their children that are making it so hard to combat the corrupting of our laws and economy with legal and illegal immigrants. We never should have allowed so many immigrants into the country as we have in the past. I firmly believe that it is these immigrants who are responsible for both WWI and, consequently, WWII. These two wars did more to destroy any hopes we had for progress in both Europe and the US. We still have yet to recover. And of course these same immigrants helped to stoke the Cold War, something that continues to pollute our economy and foreign policy.

The people who make up our history of immigrants have always been and continue to be opportunists and politically evasive and elusive. The exceptions prove the rule.

It also is not true that US citizens should prefer to use English over their language of ancestry. And, of course, some populations of immigrants have always had a certain license to live under their own language. The only thing we need to see is that the conduct of government and especially its services and political process be all conducted in English, and if you cannot speak English, then you cannot be a US citizens and you should not be able to participate in these.* If this means making English the official language, I'm all for it. But immigrants should be encouraged to speak their native language, and even advance in it. And, not in the public education system.

I think if more people -- myself, for example -- were able to speak in the language of their country of origin, politics in this country would have an entirely different character and especially our foreign policy.

*Obviously, some non-English speakers have to be grandfathered in. I always think of the Cajun south where most people speak French. And of course native Americans should be encouraged to conduct their business in their native languages. But should Spanish be allowed as a functioning language of government? No.

[ilbegone]

It also is not true that US citizens should prefer to use English over their language of ancestry.

My country of origination is the United States: "Este es el pais de mi nacio, y hablamos Ingles aqui", a statement which normally pisses illegals from Mexico off right now.

I have ancestors from much of the European continent, as well as ancestry from people who were here before Europeans.

Elena can say the same, with a greater admixture of the original "new world" inhabitants. My European ancestors happen to come from Northern Europe, her's from Southern Europe. My Indian ancestors are from north of the present US/Mexico border, her's are from south of that border.

We are Americans, a mixture of many peoples with a unique version of Anglo Saxon culture modified by but not overwhelmed by our traditional melting pot.

Americans don't speak German, Italian, Nahuatl, Cantonese, Arabic, Farsi, Vietnamese, Thai, French, or any of the rest - including any dialect of Spanish - as a public form of communication.

If you don't want to learn and publicly use the language of the country of my birth, go back to wherever you came from and be linguistically comfortable.

[ilbegone]

commonly held view that immigrants in the past were somehow more patriotic.

Which immigrants are we exactly talking about? English, Dutch, Slavic, Nigerian, Indonesian, Japanese... Who?

Some from every country have wholeheartedly embraced us, others have totally rejected us while benefiting from living among us, and some have been in the middle.

And their children do tend to become "us", except where that truth is denied by "scholastic opportunity" which rejects an "intellectual" assimilation - regardless of cultural fact.

No one can consciously and entirely change what they have been all their lives, but what, in my estimation, the yardstick is all about is the motivation (or not) to become one of us - regardless of where that motivation derives.