ICE audits 161 South Texas businesses

McALLEN — Federal officials are auditing 161 Texas companies suspected of employing illegal immigrants, including 60 in the South Texas area, the government announced Friday.

Of the 60 South Texas companies, in an area stretching from Austin to the border, at least some are in the Rio Grande Valley, said Nina Pruneda, a San Antonio-based spokeswoman for the agency. She declined to identify the businesses.

The Texas companies are among 1,000 across the country that ICE said Thursday it would audit. It’s the largest such audit in the history of the agency, said John Morton, assistant secretary of the agency.

The businesses are suspected of breaking employment law and are connected with "public safety" and "national security," ICE said. Among the industries Morton outlined are agriculture, banking and finance, nuclear energy, wastewater and drinking water treatment, health care, telecommunications and transportation.

ICE declined to identify the businesses, citing an ongoing investigation. It’s unclear how many people these companies employ. The agency will review the company’s I-9 forms, which document employment eligibility.

"(The businesses) are particularly important to our basic way of life," Morton said, adding that the audits "illustrate our commitment to holding employers accountable."

The audits announced Thursday are part of a broader effort by President Barack Obama’s administration to focus on employers and move away from the high-profile raids and deportations of President George W. Bush’s administration.

In July, ICE announced it would audit 654 companies. Since then, agents have levied 61 civil fines for breaking employment law totaling $2.3 million. Some 267 are still under review and 326 have been closed.

Some 39 South Texas companies were a part of that audit. Of those, 14 were compliant and another 25 are still under review, Pruneda said.

"We want to change the behavior of these employers," Pruneda said. "We know it’s not going to happen overnight. We’re going to continue see these audits.