Bellingham roofing company knew in advance about ICE raid that arrested dozens

Court records show that a Bellingham roofing company knew the Immigration and Customs Enforcement was investigating its workers weeks before an ICE raid led to 37 people being arrested in the early morning on April 2.

Homeland Security investigators got a tip in late January that Mt. Baker Roofing was employing people who did not have legal status in the U.S. A month later, investigators asked the company to prove it was only employing people who were authorized to work.

In total, the company handed over I-9 documentation for 84 people who have worked at the company over the past year. Workers must show they have legal status or work authorization on I-9 forms.

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Among those records, investigators found 56 employees either used a fake residency card or falsely reported they were U.S. citizens.

Employers can verify that information using E-Verify, a free tool to check work authorization.

But court records show the employer didn’t use the resource. When asked why, he said it’s not required and much of his competition wouldn’t use it either. In their application for a warrant, investigators alleged the business owner knew about the fake papers. KUOW is not identifying the owner because he has not been convicted of a crime.

“I know from training and experience that employers who hire aliens without valid work authorization for the purpose of cheaper labor often will conceal their illegal hiring practices by requesting that their applicants supply employment eligibility documents and identity documents, but will knowingly accept fraudulent and/or counterfeit documentation in order to nominally satisfy the Form I-9 reporting requirements,” wrote a special agent from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the report.

Agents used that information to get a judge to sign a warrant to search the warehouse and make arrests.

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Family and former employers of a few of those arrested say they were working to get legal status or did have valid work authorization. It’s not uncommon for people to live in the U.S. without federal authorization but still have work authorization or be in the process of trying to get legal status while working under forged documents to make a living.

The roofing company is still under investigation and could face civil fines or criminal charges in the future.

Adam Belzberg, an attorney based in Seattle who helps businesses navigate labor and employment law, said employers are often placed in a tough spot when it comes to knowing what documents are valid.

“If you really inspect it and take it upon yourself to look really hard, you could be accused of discriminating on the basis of national origin, or in Washington, under our state law, immigration status,” Belzberg said.

He’s gotten calls from clients who received documents printed on cardstock in the wrong color that are easily dismissible. It’s the more convincing documents that can get an employer in trouble with the law when immigration enforcement comes knocking.

“They're obviously going to look at it further to make sure it's actually valid, as opposed to just facially valid. And that's where they make them come up and say, ‘Oh, employer, you hired people who were unauthorized,’” Belzberg said.

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Employers also walk a fine line between notifying their employees they’re being investigated by federal agencies or being accused of obstruction of justice, he said.

In a statement to KUOW, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement said worksite immigration enforcement actions like these are meant to protect opportunities for the country’s lawful workforce.

That sentiment was echoed in investigators' request for a judge to sign the warrant. They argued employers hire people without legal status, so they can pay workers a lower wage. Those workers, in turn, are less likely to complain about working conditions — they don’t want to draw attention to themselves.

But the workers look at it differently.

Two years ago, a group of workers at Mt. Baker Roofing held a days-long work stoppage during a failed unionizing effort. Employees were demanding easier access to bathrooms, water, and the chance to take breaks while they put roofs on homes.

In the wake of that protest, unionizers allege six employees from the roofing company were fired.

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KUOW spoke to a former employee who said he had legal status but didn’t want to be named because of fear of his family being targeted.

Roofing and any construction work is often seasonal, but the work at Mt Baker Roofing was year-round, the former employee said. While the pay he got was less than at other outfits, he said a consistent paycheck was the tradeoff he was willing to take.