Government Releases Workers Arrested in Illegal Immigration Raid

More than two dozen illegal immigrants who were arrested during a workplace raid in Washington State were released this week, a move that some say marks a shift in the immigration policy under the Obama administration.

In February agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 28 workers at Yamato Engine Specialists where officials said the immigrants - mostly from Mexico and Central America - had used falsified documents to receive jobs.

This is the latest move in what appears to be a shift in tactic from the Obama administration on illegal immigration enforcement. Last week the Washington Post cited unnamed sources who said the Department of Homeland Security would be shifting prosecution from illegal workers to the companies who employ them.

But Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), said the Obama administration is not taking care of the entire problem.

“Worksite enforcement depends on holding illegal aliens and the employers who hire them accountable, but the administration is only tackling part of the problem,” Stein said. “How do you enforce the law against the people who hire illegal workers, and not enforce the law against the workers themselves who are also breaking the law?”

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