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- ICE special agent: 70 men were brought into U.S. to work in Chinese restaurants
- It cost up to $75,000 per man to have them brought into the U.S., special agent says
- They were forced into unsanitary living conditions in and around NYC, he says
New York (CNN) -- Federal officers on Thursday arrested 23 people suspected of smuggling up to 70 people from China illegally to work in Chinese restaurants in New York City.
Jim Hayes, Immigration and Custom Enforcement special agent in charge of the investigation, told CNN that 70 men were brought into the United States at a cost of up to $75,000 per person to work at or below minimum wage.
They were being forced into unsanitary living conditions in the city, as well as in Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island, New York, Hayes said.
The men were brought in from China by business owners and illegal recruiters, who would get families to pay the fees.
None of the illegal workers was arrested, Hayes said.
The eight-month investigation was part of the new initiative by the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to target employers of illegal aliens rather than actual workers.
Source: CNN
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