Carolina Politics Online

Nine workers were escorted out of the Olive Garden restaurant in Pineville Thursday afternoon and loaded into a van after being arrested on illegal immigration violations.

Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement converged on the Italian restaurant about 4:30 p.m. after getting information that unauthorized workers might be inside, said Richard Rocha, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, D.C.

The arrests took place during the beginning of rush hour as the restaurant’s dinner crew was clocking in.

Investigators would not release the names or charges against the workers who are from Indonesia, Mexico and Guatamala.

Charlotte Observer

Darden Restaurants is going to have quite a bit to explain here.  You generally don’t hear about large chains engaging in employing illegals.  It’s usually the small businesses.  You have to wonder if this is just an isolated incident or if this is an “authorized” procedure throughout their company.

ASHEVILLE – A city councilman is calling for federal immigration agents to investigate downtown construction workers, who he says are likely undocumented workers.

Councilman Carl Mumpower wrote a March 20 letter to special agent Del Richburg with U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement in Charlotte, saying many of the workers on three major downtown projects did not speak English and were likely undocumented.

A UNC School of Business study showed 78 percent of non-English speakers in the state were undocumented, Mumpower said.

Asheville Citizen-Times

78% is an astonishing number so it’s definitely worth checking out. These are jobs that should be going to our own people, not foreigners who have illegally sneaked into the country. If it were discovered that these constructions firms have been hiring illegal aliens they should be prosecuted and heavily fined. This activity is driving down wages and causing higher levels of unemployment for lower skilled Americans.