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Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.19.2008
Un restaurante Panda Express al Norte de Tucsón no será castigado bajo la nueva ley de Arizona que sanciona a empleadores, a pesar de que 11 indocumentados fueron arrestados con cargos de robo de identidad en dicho lugar.
"Este es estrictamente un caso de robo de identidad", aseguró Quentin G. Mehr, vocero del Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Arizona. "La investigación condujo a estos empleados. Esto no tiene nada que ver con Panda Express".
La nueva ley que entró en vigor el pasado 1 de enero, establece que un negocio puede perder su licencia estatal si se comprueba que contrató a indocumentados sabiendo su estatus legal.
El Departamento de Seguridad Pública no considera cargos bajo esta ley y no planea referirlo a la Oficina del Procurador del Condado Pima, el cual debería investigar el caso bajo dicha ley estatal, o bien a la Agencia de Inmigración y Aduanas, (ICE por sus siglas en inglés), agencia federal que lleva a cabo las sanciones al empleador, dijo Mehr.
"Esto no se realizó con la intención de afectar a Panda. . . Nosotros no tratamos con sanciones al empleador", dijo Mehr.
La Oficina del Procurador del Condado Pima no ha recibido ningún reporte del caso, dijo el procurador asistente del condado, Daniel Jurkowitz, quien dirige el equipo que hace aplicar la nueva ley en esta oficina. Una queja contra una compañía que contrate a indocumentados puede venir de alguna agencia o de algún ciudadano, aseguró.
ICE no ha sido notificado, tampoco, dijo el vocero Vincent Picard. Su única participación será detener a los 11 arrestados y buscar la deportación siguiendo los procedimientos criminales, aseguró.
La Oficina General del Procurador Estatal, que llevará la acusación, dijo que el caso está basado solamente en robo de identidad y no está relacionado con la ley que sanciona empleadores, dijo la vocera, Andrea Esquer.
Las 11 personas fueron arrestadas el martes pasado en el restaurante Panda Express ubicado en 2485 N. Swan Road, Suite 101, después de una investigación de robo de identidad del Departamento de Seguridad Pública que duró tres meses.
Los arrestados fueron llevados a la cárcel del Condado Pima como sospechosos de robo de identidad agravado y de crimen grave clase 3, creado bajo una ley en el 2005 que establece que es ilegal usar una identificación falsa para conseguir trabajo, dijo Mehr.
La compañía dueña del restaurante envió el siguiente comunicado:
"Panda Express ha y continúa estando en conformidad con todas las leyes federales y estatales. Además, continuaremos cooperando con el Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Arizona en este asunto", escribió Monte Baier, un vice presidente del Grupo de Restaurantes Panda.
ENGLISH VERSION
Panda Express won't be punished under Arizona's new employer sanctions law despite having 11 illegal immigrants arrested on identity theft charges this week at one of its North Side restaurants.
"This is strictly an identity theft case," said Officer Quentin G. Mehr, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety. "The investigation led to these employees. This didn't have anything to do with Panda Express."
Under Arizona's employer sanctions law, which went into effect Jan. 1, a business can lose its state license if they are found to have knowingly or intentionally hired illegal workers.
But the Department of Public Safety isn't considering charges under the law and doesn't plan to refer it to the Pima County Attorneys Office, which would investigate it under the state law, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that handles employer sanctions, Mehr said.
"I don't what is going to happen with that, that is not the crux of our investigation," Mehr said. "This was not done with the intent of going after Panda. . . We are not dealing with employer sanctions."
The Pima County Attorney's office has not received any reports of the case, said Deputy County Attorney Daniel Jurkowitz, who is leading the office's enforcement team on the new law. A complaint against a company employing illegal workers could come from an agency or a be filed by a citizen, he said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement hadn't been notified, either, said spokesman Vincent Picard.Their only involvement will be placing holds on the 11 people arrested and seeking deportation following the criminal proceedings, he said.
The Attorney General's Office, which will handle the prosecution, said the case is based solely on identity theft and unrelated to the state employer sanctions law, said spokeswoman Andrea Esquer.
The eleven people were arrested Tuesday at the Panda Express restaurant at 2485 N. Swan Road, Suite 101, after a three-month Department of Public Safety identity-theft investigation.
The eight men and three women were booked into the Pima County jail on suspicion of aggravated identity theft, a class 3 felony that was created under a 2005 law that made it illegal to use a fake ID to get a job, Mehr said.
All 11 were employees at the Panda Express. They range in age from 21-56 and are illegal immigrants, Mehr said. Detectives are still trying to determine where they are from, he said.
Investigators won't say what led them to the arrests, what types of fake IDs they had used to get jobs, or where they obtained them. Mehr did say that there are no known victims in the case.
More arrests are possible and the investigation is ongoing, he said.
"It's not over yet," he said Wednesday morning.
The California company that owns the restaurant couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday but released the following statement Tuesday evening:
"Panda Express has and continues to be in full compliance with all federal and state laws. Moreover, we have and will continue to cooperate with the Arizona Department of Public Safety in this matter," Monte Baier, a senior vice president for Panda Restaurant Group, wrote.
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