U.S. Immigration raided an Asheville plant, arresting 57 suspected illegal aliens. It happened at Mills Manufacturing, which makes parachutes and military equipment for the Department of Defense. Immigration officials say the workers used stolen or doctored Id's to get jobs there. Mills Manufacturing says they did not know the ID's were false.
29 of the workers were released by evening. Immigration offiicals say they had to appear for a hearing at a later date. The others remain in custody.
We talked with Kelvin Bonilla, an employee who was not arrested, "I was lucky, I was one of the ones that had good paperwork. My cousin didn't and that's why I'm here picking her up and thank God she's okay."
Family, friends and supporters gathered at Henderson County Detention Center and prayed that the workers will not be deported. Said Carmita Cordova, a niece of one of the women arrested, "I was totally shocked. I was in tears because it's my aunt, my cousins would no longer have a mom if she was to be deported."
Mills Manufacturing does not face any penalties. CEO John Oswald says they did not know the documents were false, "There are laws that protect... civil rights laws, and anti discrimination laws, so its navigating those laws and trying to make sure you're not discriminatory and then trying to make sure you're in compliance." Oswald says the company will begin using a system called E-Verify to help check out documentation in the future.
Mills Manufacturing closed for the day but plans to reopen Wednesday. Oswald says they have lost one-third their workforce, which will slow down the company's production until they can be replaced.
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