Immigration Raid Nets 19 at Nebraska Lawn Care Company

Federal agents have arrested 19 suspected illegal immigrants at a Grand Island, Neb. lawn care company.

A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said none of the arrests Sept. 6 was for criminal charges other than being in the country illegally. The employees of Cloudburst Lawn and Sprinkler were being held for processing in the Phelps County Jail.
 
ICE spokesman Tim Counts said Friday that agents believed 11 of those arrested were from Mexico, six were from El Salvador and two were from Guatemala.

Counts said the arrests were part of a continuing investigation into illegal workers at the company.

"This was not random or spontaneous by any means, this is part of an ongoing investigation into illegal workers at this company," Counts said.

Those arrested can either volunteer themselves for deportation or request a hearing if they believe they have a right to be in the United States. Hearings would take place in Omaha, likely before a Chicago judge through video conferencing.

A telephone message left with Cloudburst Lawn and Sprinkler by The Associated Press on Friday was not immediately returned.

The company won a city contract in 2002 to landscape, maintain and remove snow from a street leading into downtown from the south. The contract ended in 2005, according to City Council documents.

It was not immediately clear Friday whether Cloudburst was still under contract to the city. A telephone message left with a city spokeswoman on Friday was not immediately returned.