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Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswomen, Ana Santiago and Nina Pruneda, said the officers - some of them affiliated with state agencies - rounded up the workers, some seen through a thinly covered fence on their knees, their wrists tied behind their backs. The individuals were charged with being in the country illegally and working without proper authorization. Immigrant workers are required to have a green card, work permit or professional visa. Federal law requires employers to make sure workers are United States citizens or have one of those documents. Jacqueline Becerra, special counsel to the United States attorney, confirmed that a multi-agency effort had taken place Friday on the site but declined to give details. Asked how illegal immigrants were permitted to work on a federal project, she said: Thats not going to be a question for us to answer. I find that very ironic, that illegal aliens could be working on the project, said Bob Durfy, a consultant with Airside Construction Services, who was on the site and whose workers were not detained. Im not the only person who thinks that - that we could be building a federal building and have illegal people working on a project of this magnitude. Im happy to see them get all their ducks in a row, get in there, and take care of business, said KC Miller, a field supervisor with Bostic Steel and a Hollywood resident. Miller, like many other union workers, argue that illegal immigrants take jobs away from United States citizens. He said none of the detainees worked for him and that most were employed by a concrete subcontractor, Capform, which is headquartered in Carrollton, Texas. Kurt Hitt, project manager for Capforms South Florida office in Davie, said that the company had 170 workers on the site, but couldnt say how many of them were detained. PAPER CHASE He said the workers may have submitted false papers to immigration agents or werent carrying them. At this stage, its too early to tell what was uncovered, Hitt said. Fridays raid may have stemmed from a roundup a few months ago, staffed by fewer than a dozen agents, in which suspected illegal immigrant workers escaped by hopping over the fence, workers said. The immigration agency and the United States attorneys office declined to give details on that raid. But this time, workers said, the raid involved far more law enforcement agents. Believe me, said Gary Lott, an iron worker and Fort Lauderdale resident. So ready, Lott and his colleagues said, that half a dozen agents stood guard - with binoculars and radioes - on top of the federal courthouse cater-corner to the one being built. If immigration officers found a workers papers checked out, they let him go. The hard-hatted worker then walked through an opening in the fence and out onto Fifth Street, where the other workers greeted him with raucous applause. Then the worker - flashing a gigantic smile to his colleagues - raised his arms in a triumphant gesture.
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