Illegal Workers Expose Terror Gaps

Arrests Raise Question Of Security Risks At Critical Facilities

(AP) 
The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 1.1 million illegal immigrants last year. Thousands more have been arrested or removed from their jobs since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which triggered closer government scrutiny of hiring practices at potential target buildings.

Federal investigators regularly conduct unannounced checks of facilities with heightened security risks — from a New Orleans oil refinery to the Sears Tower in Chicago. Illegal immigrants who are caught are usually deported or placed in immigration proceedings, and employers can face criminal sanctions.

Whom to blame for immigrants' apparent ease in slipping through gaps in security screening systems is not always clear.

Most of those arrested in March were contract employees sent to work at the facilities as janitors, mechanics, landscapers and other maintenance crew members. Security screening requirements vary widely among companies.

Moreover, an interim Homeland Security plan to protect critical infrastructure offers only vague guidance for businesses wishing to adopt employee security clearance programs.

Hiring illegal workers at secure facilities will likely continue until the government issues a standard employee screening process, said P.J. Crowley, a former national security aide and analyst at the Center for American Progress, a liberal advocacy group.

"Most of these people do not pose security risks per se, but the illegal immigrant today could be someone with nefarious goals tomorrow," Crowley said.