October 23 2003

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers today arrested 245 undocumented aliens at Wal-Mart stores in more than 20 U.S. states as part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal employment of unauthorized workers in this country.

The arrested workers came from 18 different nations, including 90 from Mexico, 35 from the Czech Republic, 22 from Mongolia and 20 from Brazil, said John Shewairy, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, D.C.

In its press release, ICE stated that these arrests are part of ICE's ongoing efforts to ensure that U.S. companies do not employ individuals who are unauthorized to work in the United States.