it's not wednesday but it felt rant worthy.

55 Illegal Immigrants Arrested at Dulles Site
Raid at Construction Area Is Part of National Effort to Deflect Terrorist Threats

Federal authorities arrested 55 illegal immigrants yesterday at a construction site on Dulles International Airport grounds, the latest in a string of post-Sept. 11 raids at locations the government considers vulnerable to security threats.

The workers, all Latin American men employed by two construction companies, worked in a secured area on airport property, where as many as 2,000 laborers work each day on building projects that include a planned airport train system and a new runway, officials said.

The arrests took place early yesterday as the yellow school buses ferrying workers from a parking lot to the construction site stopped at a security checkpoint on the edge of airport property. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were waiting checked their work and immigration documents, and those whose documents did not hold up were handcuffed and transported to an Alexandria field office for questioning, ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said.

The arrests, authorities said, are part of a government campaign to root out illegal workers at "critical infrastructure" sites nationwide that could be targeted by terrorists -- such as airports, shipyards, nuclear plants and military bases. ICE agents recently arrested 14 illegal workers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head and 25 others at a Memphis chemical plant.
None of the workers arrested at Dulles or in Indian Head was involved in terrorist activity, authorities said. But they said all illegal immigrants can pose security risks.

"Not only are the identities of these individuals in question, but these aliens are also vulnerable to exploitation by terrorists and other criminals, given their illegal status in this country," ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers said in a statement.

The Dulles effort comes as Congress debates plans to revamp the nation's immigration laws and authorities step up enforcement against illegal immigrants and employers. In April, agents arrested seven current and former managers and more than 1,100 workers for pallet-producer Ifco Systems North America Inc.

Also yesterday, authorities announced a nationwide roundup of nearly 2,200 illegal immigrants, many with histories of criminal violence. More than 800 of those arrested have been deported, and the rest are awaiting removal from the country, authorities said. About half have criminal records, including 146 with convictions for sexually assaulting juveniles. Those include a District man, identified by authorities as Wilbur Kuk, 24, a Mexican national. ICE officials said he has a record of arrests on charges of abduction, malicious wounding, robbery and unlawful use of a firearm.

Observers on both sides of the immigration debate have said the work-site raids amount to little more than a public relations effort. But the crackdown efforts have sent fear through immigrant communities and sparked widespread rumors of additional raids.

Word of the Dulles arrests spread slowly yesterday, in part because Spanish-language radio, a key source for such information, was focused on the World Cup soccer tournament. Still, immigrant groups condemned the action.

Authorities said they targeted employees of two companies, whose names they did not release. But several witnesses and workers at the site yesterday said most of those arrested were employed by Lane Construction Corp., a Connecticut company working on the airport train project. A Lane spokesman referred questions to Jay S. Cruickshank, vice president for legal and safety matters, who did not return calls.

No managers were arrested yesterday, but Boyd said the investigation will continue. To charge employers, authorities must prove they knowingly hired illegal immigrants, he said.

Umm, exsqueeze me? This is so wrong, SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO wrong!

Lane Construction Corporation
965 East Main StreetMeriden, Connecticut 06450
information@laneconstruct.com

a wholly owned subsidiary of

REA Contracting LLC
6135 Park South Dr.Charlotte, NC 28210
information@reacontract.com

To Whom This May Concern:

This is a letter of concern from a citizen living in the Washington DC metro area. In today's Washington Post, it was reported that 55 illegal immigrants, employees of Lane, were arrested at Dulles Airport and sent to Texas for deportation proceedings. As a concerned citizen, I implore that both Lane Construction and REA Contracting go above and beyond the call of duty in assisting these employees and their families of your company with their current legal situation.

Lane Construction and REA Contracting LLC obviously understand the importance of foreign workers to your company, employees who are willing to work harder than many natural-born Americans (I being one myself) and for often, far less wages. Please don't turn your back on them now.

Setting aside the politics of the situation, issues like "national security" and "illegal immigrants" -- these are first and foremost employees of both Lane and REA, whether they are contractors or day laborers. If they are good enough employees to pay, they are good enough to employees to protect. It is wholly unethical for you as their employer, to let them be arrested and deported in this manner. Furthermore, they are human beings with wives and children--families are being separated. Please do your part in reuniting these families and helping them get the legal assistance they need.

Frankly speaking: we both know that the illegal immigrants employed by your companies do not represent the security risk that we as a nation should be focusing on. Do not let these employees be used by a bureaucratic machine to made "an example" of. Do not let the government "bully" these people, for the sake of their silly government public relations game, a game that educated people in this country are not playing.

The present political climate is changing -- companies like yours can make a difference in leading this nation and showing the impact that immigrants have on the American economy. It is IMPERATIVE that YOU step in and protect these employees and their families to the best of your abilities, to show everyone that immigrants are a vital part of our society and economy.

I am not in any way related to Lane or REA, or any employee of Lane or REA Contracting LLC, nor am I in any way connected with the events reported in today's article. I am merely a local citizen, concerned about the status of our national security, and I am outraged.

Sincerely,
J.Willis

Will post the reply, IF one comes.