1,200 Illegal Workers Fired in Minnesota

In the largest immigration enforcement action under the Obama Administration, 1,200 illegal aliens working as janitors in Minnesota were fired last month. The illegal aliens worked for a San Francisco-based company, ABM, that is contracted to clean many of the office buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Shifting from the Bush policy of conducting worksite enforcement actions, the Obama Administration pressured the company to fire the illegal workers. The company has not said how big their Minnesota workforce was, but legal workers who continue working said about 80 percent of the workforce was fired.

Unlike the Bush-era enforcement actions, no action was taken against the fired workers. ABM will likely be prosecuted. Former ICE agent, Mark Cangemi, is unsure if the new strategy will prove to be effective.

“Why give people an opportunity to leave the employment without taking any action against them as individuals?” Cangemi told Minnesota Public Radio. “Put them into proceedings. Let them argue their case. If they have a case that allows them to remain in the United States under the law, so be it. If they don’t, then the law stands to be enforced.”

In an interview with MPR, an anonymous janitor said, “I really want people to hear — and if possible even get to the ears of President Barack Obama — that we don’t come here for anything other than to work.”

The unemployment rate in Minnesota in September was 7.3%. Of the 1,200 job openings created by the firings, apparently all the jobs have been filled.