This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The process for vetting workers at one of the most sensitive military sites in the country comes down to trust of contractors, subcontractors and "subcontractors of subcontractors," federal officials said Friday, a day after nine undocumented immigrants were arrested at Dugway Proving Ground.
Contractors employing foreign nationals at the base are supposed to identify those individuals for additional background checks. But the discovery that nine undocumented workers were able to enter and move freely about parts of a base dedicated to research into biological and chemical weapons defenses revealed a troubling flaw to that system.
If a contractor fails to identify workers as foreigners, Dugway spokeswoman Paula Nicholson said, no check is conducted.
"I'm sure we are going to look at things, to investigate what to do to make sure this doesn't happen again," Nicholson said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Adam Parks called the issue "troubling."
"Just by saying you're working for a subcontractor, you can access one of the most highly top secret installations in the country, dealing with weapons of mass destruction," Parks said. "Once inside the perimeter, they had their identification and would go to work, not monitored. They didn't have an escort or anything like that."
A criminal investigation is underway into the companies that employed the workers, Park said.
The workers were employed by Spacecon West, a Salt Lake City construction company that, among other government projects, installed nearly 51,000 square feet of drywall throughout the interior and exterior of the city's main library.
Contacted at his office Friday afternoon, Spacecon President Dennis Gray directed questions to Jim Hippolyte, the company's corporate counsel in Lancaster, Pa. A call to Hippolyte was not immediately returned.
Nicholson was unsure who hired Spacecon for the Dugway project, a hotel for out-of-towners coming to the secretive base for research or training. The overall project, worth $9 million, is being facilitated by San Francisco-based Swinerton, Inc., whose public projects in Utah include work at the Hogle Zoo.
Nicholson stressed that the hotel, though inside the base gates, was miles away from the area of the base where secretive work is conducted. That area, she noted, is separated by a second gate.
That didn't make Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, feel any better about the issue.
"I think this is an example of the government sort of being caught in the system it has worked so diligently to create," Mehlman said. "Using contractors and subcontractors has always been the defense, because you can't hold anyone accountable because they are working for someone so far down the food chain."
Immigration officials said they were not concerned that the illegal workers arrested at Dugway were involved in anything more than the work they had been assigned.
Mehlman said that's probably true. But noting that this is not the first time undocumented workers have been discovered on military facilities, he worries that the government is not taking the matter seriously enough.
"You know, chances are that these people are not dangerous," he said. "But one of these days, something will happen and then it will be like Sept. 11, and everybody will be saying 'How were we supposed to know?' "
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Tribune reporter Patty Henetz contributed to this report.
Airports
"Operation Tarmac" is an ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiative that targets employers and unauthorized workers who have access to sensitive areas at commercial airports in the United States. Agents have identified over 5,800 unauthorized airport workers, arrested more than 1,100 unauthorized immigrant workers at airports, and obtained 775 criminal indictments.
Among the cases:
l March 25, 2005 - Agents arrested 14 illegal immigrants working at Logan International Airport in Boston. All the workers were employed by a contract company that provided services for Logan Airport. The workers had badges that allowed them access beyond where passengers are screened. The investigation is ongoing.
l March 8, 2005 - Agents arrested 27 illegals working as aircraft mechanics and in other aircraft maintenance jobs at the Piedmont/Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C. At least two of the workers had FAA mechanic's licenses to work on aircraft. Twelve individuals have been indicted in this case on a range of criminal charges, including knowingly hiring illegals.
Nuclear plants, related industries
"Operation Glow Worm" is a joint operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to screen the workforce at the nation's 104 nuclear power plants. Numerous unauthorized workers have been arrested and warning notices have been issued to those employing unauthorized workers.
Among the cases:
l Sept. 15, 2005 - Agents arrested three illegal workers when they attempted to enter the outer secure area of the Omaha Public Power District's Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station to perform contract work at the plant. The three men, all citizens of Mexico, had been hired by an independent contractor to perform maintenance work at the nuclear facility.
l March 2005 - Agents arrested six illegal immigrants performing maintenance at the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant in Citrus, Fla. All were employees of a Texas-based specialty contract company. At least one was later indicted on criminal charges.
l March 18, 2005 - Agents arrested an undocumented worker who performed contract pipe insulation work at the Duane Arnold Energy Center Nuclear Power Plant in Palo, Iowa. He was later indicted for using and possessing fraudulent documents and making false statements to federal agents.
Chemical plants
l May 20, 2005 - Agents arrested 60 illegals who performed contract work at 12 sensitive facilities, including seven petrochemical refineries and two power plants, located in California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The workers were employed by a company that provides workers to the petrochemical industry, the nuclear industry and other energy sectors.
l Jan. 14, 2005 - Agents arrested 17 at the Shell chemical refinery at the Port of Mobile, Ala., as part of an ongoing probe into petroleum industry subcontractors. All the workers were employed by a subcontractor. One had an outstanding criminal arrest warrant.
Defense sector facilities
l Oct. 5, 2005 - Two illegals (from Indonesia and Senegal) who served as language instructors at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., were arrested and criminally charged with using false documents to gain employment and making false statements. A third was charged with being in the country illegally. Among their clients: U.S. Special Forces.
l Oct. 4, 2005 - Seven illegals were arrested at the U.S. Air Force Base in Mountain Home, Idaho. The men - six from Mexico and one from Canada - were working for Nutek Construction, which was sub-contracted to build housing on the secure air base.
l Aug. 26, 2005 - Agents arrested six Mexican nationals at the Fort Irwin U.S. Army base east of Barstow, Calif. The men were working illegally for Laurence-Hovenier, Inc., a construction company building military housing at the base. The workers, most of whom had security badges authorizing them to enter the base, were identified after agents audited the hiring records of more than 700 Laurence-Hovenier workers. The audit found that more than 40 percent of the employees on the company's payroll might not have been authorized to work in the U.S.
l July 26, 2005 - Agents arrested six working at the Homestead Air Reserve Base in Homestead, Fla. The men, who were contracted by a Texas-based corporation, were working on a major runway-resurfacing project. Officers working at the Air Reserve's main gate noticed irregularities in the documents presented by the three men and called Immigration and Customs Enforcement for follow-up.
Seaports
l Oct. 5, 2005 - Agents arrested seven Mexican nationals working illegally at a Pacific American Service (PACAM) warehouse and distribution center for goods brought into the United States through the Port of Oakland. PACAM'S bonded facilities are located in northern California, close to the San Francisco and Oakland ports, railyards and international airports.
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Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement