Raid On Condo Site Nets Undocumented Workers

Federal immigration agents yesterday detained 14 undocumented workers during a surprise inspection at a luxury condominium project under construction in the Belltown area.

Irene Mortensen, spokeswoman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), said agents, acting on a tip, served a warrant about 9 a.m. at the site of the 223-unit, twin-tower Concord condominium project in the 2900 block of First Avenue.

The 14 - nine Mexican nationals and five from Canada - were escorted from the project and interviewed at the INS detention center on Airport Way South. Mortensen said the INS expected all 14 men would voluntarily agree to be immediately removed from the country. However, they could request hearings and be held in INS detention until their cases are heard, she said.

Jay Congleton, construction manager for PCL Construction Services, said the job site was shut down for more than two hours while INS agents checked documentation and identification for about 120 workers and managers. He said most of the workers were employees of about 15 subcontractors on the project.

Employers are responsible for seeing that all employees are properly documented, Mortensen said. Employers can be cited if they knowingly employ undocumented workers, she said. Dean Jones, a spokesman for the developer, T. Jones, a Washington development company, said the firm had no comment.

Mortensen said INS inspections at work sites are not out of the ordinary. "Generally, we have an idea that somebody may be (in the United States) illegally," she said.

The INS requires that all workers have proper identification or documentation that verifies identity and employment eligibility.