McDonald's Franchisee Fined $1M for Employing Illegal Immigrants

A McDonald's franchisee in Nevada that owns 11 restaurants was fined one million dollars Wednesday after pleading guilty to employing 58 illegal immigrants and working hard to keep such cheap adult labor in the country.

The plea agreement details how Mack Associates' management employed individuals they knew were in the country illegally by supplying them with names and Social Security numbers belonging to other individuals, the statement said. - Reuters

It is the federal government's first major crackdown and conviction of illegal labor in the fast-food industry. The WSJ ($$) adds this insight into why so many crackdowns of late:

Since Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform, the Bush administration has made work-site enforcement a top priority by conducting raids at companies believed to employ illegal immigrants...

In a sign of the widening crackdown, immigration cases have flooded the federal courts. In April, immigration cases constituted 58% of all federal prosecutions, according to an analysis released Wednesday by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. By comparison, drugs and narcotics made up 16% of the total, while matters involving white-collar violations made up less than 5% for the month.

With ICE reaping such a big win, do you think there might be more raids to come with large fines for franchise owners? My prediction is yes.

Read full details at Reuters