(The Bismarck Tribune) – More than a dozen people who are allegedly in the United States illegally have been booked into the Burleigh Morton Detention Center by agents with U.S Customs and Immigration Enforcement since midday Monday, Sept. 21.
Of the 12 men and one woman ranging in age from 19-58, nine have addresses in Bismarck, according to jail records that indicate one man has an address in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and three other addresses are unknown or not listed.
Records from the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department indicate that deputies made arrests of two illegal immigrants on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Maj. Jim Hulm with the sheriff’s department told the Tribune that the agency was contacted last week by Homeland Security Investigations regarding individuals who were allegedly in the U.S. illegally. As a result of that contact, the department assigned one investigator who acted as a liaison with ICE/HSI, and the department also provided the assistance “as the need arose,” according to Hulm.
Bismarck police spokesperson, Lt. Luke Gardiner, told the Tribune that the department was aware of increased local activity by ICE agents, but had not been asked to assist with any recent enforcement activity.
Restaurant shuts down as a result of arrests
Two of the 13 were reportedly employees at a Bismarck restaurant. In a Facebook post uploaded Tuesday, a man who identifies himself as representing Charra’s and Tequila located in north Bismarck said two of the restaurant’s employees were taken into ICE custody earlier in the day. The post does not indicate if the employees were at work when apprehended.
The Charra’s representative said the employees that were arrested are not U.S. citizens, but possessed valid, unexpired work authorizations.
“All our other employees are very upset, very worried,” he said. “They’re scared, they’re afraid, and we want to find answers.”
A printed post that accompanies the video, reportedly posted by the business’s owner, states that the two employees have permanent resident status to legally live and work in the U.S.
“One of them is my own nephew,” the owner said.
In the aftermath of the arrests, the restaurant’s owner said Charra’s will be closed temporarily.
“After what happened this morning, our entire team is in shock,” the poster said. “Many of our employees are scared to come to work, even though they are legally here. We need time to process what has happened, plan, organize, and figure out the best steps forward.”
The Tribune has attempted to reach out to the business and its owner through phone calls and emails, but has yet to receive a reply.
In a recent interview, U.S. Attorney Nick Chase told the Tribune that immigration enforcement isn’t uncommon in North Dakota and that the number of cases has actually decreased in recent years, despite the increased visibility of ICE agents and their operations.
Information provided by the Clerk of the U.S. District Court puts the number of immigration related cases opened from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, including those involving illegal immigrants, at 12.
Chase said that during his previous tenure in the U.S. Attorney’s office, it wasn’t unusual for the office to handle nearly 100 cases a year.
In many cases, Chase said, people arrested for being in the U.S. illegally are charged in federal court. In those instances, individuals accused of being in the U.S. illegally make initial court appearances before a U.S. Magistrate Judge, where they are advised of their rights, afforded the opportunity to have legal representation, and can be held in custody pending further proceedings similar to any other criminal defendant until their case is ultimately presented to an immigration judge.
Many of those individuals can take advantage of a process known as waiver of indictment. By waiving an indictment handed down by a grand jury, a person can speed the process by entering a plea based on a criminal information, which is a report prepared by law enforcement or a prosecuting attorney that is reviewed by a judge who then determines if a crime has been committed.
Earlier this year, four men who had been taken into ICE custody in Minot, Williston and Watford City appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland and waived their respective indictments during court appearances that took place less than 60 days after their arrests. All four pleaded guilty to their respective charges and were ordered deported.
Others, who are already subject to an administrative removal order previously issued by an immigration judge, typically do not have criminal cases opened, but are usually transferred to a deportation facility, according to Chase.
Administrative removal orders are commonly used in the cases of individuals who are not legal U.S. residents and have prior felony convictions, usually involving violence, drugs or firearms, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Most people in administrative removal do not go before an immigration judge, but are afforded an opportunity to bring in other information, including documents, written sworn statements, or other materials to challenge the charges. Should that challenge prove successful, DHS will suspend the administrative removal process and that individual will appear before an immigration judge, according to DHS.
Deputy Jail Administrator, Maj. Trent Wangen with the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department previously said the jail routinely houses federal inmates from ICE and the U.S. Marshal’s Service under a contract. Many of those inmates, according to Wangen, are held temporarily before being transferred in some cases to another facility while their immigration cases proceed. Others are transferred to locations where they will ultimately be deported.
An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request by the Tribune for comment on the recent enforcement activity, and federal court records do not yet indicate how many of the 13 individuals will have criminal cases opened.
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