WASHINGTON — In a sweep across California and 16 other states, federal immigration officials descended on eateries such as the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood on Wednesday and Thursday, arrested almost 200 illegal immigrants working for a janitorial company and filed criminal charges against the firm's top three officials.
Accusing Florida-based Rosenbaum-Cunningham International of building a business around "a ghost workforce that was paid in cash," agents raided establishments in 63 locations -- including West Hollywood, Arcadia, Anaheim, Ontario, Orange, Irvine and San Diego.
The arrests are the latest high-profile attempt by the Bush administration to shore up its enforcement credentials as Congress and the White House gear up for another round of debate over the nation's immigration laws that is expected to begin within weeks.
Critics, many within the president's party, have assailed the administration for its support of an immigration overhaul that would give some illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship, calling instead for an "enforcement-first" approach that would ensure border and work-site security.
On Thursday in Washington, Julie Myers -- head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- unveiled a 23-count indictment against co-owners Richard Rosenbaum and Edward Cunningham and controller Christina Flocken.
Myers said the criminal charges represented new, stricter tactics to fight illegal immigration, stressing that the three company officials faced "the very real threat of jail time."
The three are charged with crimes that include evading $18 million in federal tax payments, and directing a manager to obtain 20 fake visas for cleaning crews at a Michigan resort -- and then rewarding that manager with a $1,000 bonus.
Immigration authorities said company officials used the tax funds to buy themselves race horses, lavish homes and luxury boats, and to pay college tuition for their children. "It's all about the money," said John Imhoff Jr., acting chief of the criminal investigation division of the Internal Revenue Service.
Company officials did not respond to requests from The Times for comment. But in a statement to the Washington Post, John Vandevelde and Jeffrey Rutherford, lawyers for Cunningham, said that the use of undocumented workers "pervades many industries throughout the United States," and that their client is cooperating fully and "expects to resolve this matter to everyone's satisfaction."
