Immigration crackdown leads to anxiety

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt's crackdown on illegal immigration has not uncovered any major instances of contractors employing illegal immigrants. But it has created anxiety among business owners who worry that Hispanic employees might be targeted by law enforcement.

A high-profile immigration probe in this northeast Missouri town seems to mirror the broader crackdown on businesses. While the questioning of 19 Hispanic men uncovered only one illegal immigrant, it reinforced fears that Blunt's policy might lead to racial profiling.

"There could be a chilling effect," said Jorge Riopedre, secretary of the St. Louis-area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "A company is not going to hire a Hispanic because they don't want to run any risk of going afoul of the government."

Blunt launched his two-pronged initiative in late August. He ordered the Missouri State Highway Patrol to check the immigration status of everyone presented for incarceration and ordered the Missouri Department of Economic Development to check the immigration status of workers employed by contractors who get state incentives.

Blunt has said repeatedly his crackdown will not target Hispanics. Spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said the Department of Economic Development will make sure its policy won't amount to racial profiling when inspectors start visiting work sites.

"I understand that they will balance taxpayer protection with appropriate individual rights and protections," she said.

The patrol and other law enforcement agencies have identified 75 illegal immigrants who were taken into custody by Oct. 20, said Capt. Tim Hull. Over the weekend, 10 others were detained after a traffic stop and are awaiting deportation. But the Department of Economic Development hasn't yet implemented its part of the initiative.

In Hannibal, patrol agents visited the Continental Cement plant on Sept. 12 because of a tip that illegal immigrants were working on a construction project there. Continental Cement president Mike Johnson said the firm got no tax breaks or incentives for the construction project.

Johnson said patrol investigators arrived at the site and asked to see the employees' immigration paperwork, even though they did not have a warrant.

The 19 men, all of them Hispanic, were detained at the work site while the patrol took down their names and birth dates. The information was passed on to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in St. Louis.

A patrol report on the incident said a man claiming to be a former employee of Continental Cement called State Rep. Rachel Bringer, D-Palmyra, and told her the company was employing illegal immigrants to help build a new $150 million kiln.

Johnson said the Hispanic employees felt intimidated -- some quit and found work elsewhere. He said he was frustrated to have his work site interrupted and is worried the same thing might happen again.

"I was just very disappointed with the Highway Patrol -- that they would do that just on the basis of an anonymous phone call, with no evidence or anything," Johnson said.

Riopedre said he is trying to arrange a meeting with Blunt's office to discuss ways that immigration law can be enforced without targeting Hispanics.