INS Arrests 8 Men at Agoura Hiring Site

Agents from the Immigration and Naturalization Service on Wednesday arrested eight men at a popular hiring site for day laborers in Agoura Hills, angering immigrant rights advocates who said the raid was intended to scare workers out of the affluent community.

John Brechtel, assistant district director for the INS, said Wednesday’s raid was part of a crackdown on street-corner hiring sites throughout Southern California that the agency announced last month. “It’s a two-step operation,” Brechtel said. “Step 1 is high profile. Step 2 is an undercover operation to apprehend employers.”

E. J. Flynn, an attorney for the Los Angeles-based Central American Refugee Center, said the arrests were part of a harassment campaign against the mostly Latino men who congregate at Kanan and Agoura roads in search of work. “They were clearly trying to intimidate people,” he said.

Brechtel denied that Agoura Hills was singled out. He said agents will continue to monitor the site.

Local merchants have complained that the men are a nuisance, and the City Council earlier this year outlawed hiring from street corners and other public places.

The eight were arrested about 6 a.m. after they ran from agents who drove up to the site. Of the eight, seven asked to be returned to their home countries, Brechtel said. One, a Guatemalan, requested a hearing before an immigration judge to request residency in the United States, Brechtel said.