INS Official Is Target of Sexual Harassment Probe

U.S. immigration authorities have reassigned the port director at Los Angeles International Airport after allegations that he sexually harassed female subordinates, authorities said Wednesday.

Arthur Alvarez, one of the highest-ranking immigration officers in the Los Angeles area, was moved from the airport in November and deployed to other duties after the matter arose, said Robert Moschorak, the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s district director.

“There have been allegations made and the case is being investigated,” said Moschorak, who declined to provide details.

No criminal charges have been filed against Alvarez, an INS veteran of almost 20 years who oversaw about 200 employees as port director for the airport and Los Angeles Harbor.

Alvarez, 39, who held the position for about four years, could not be reached for comment.

About half a dozen female INS employees have told police that Alvarez harassed them sexually, including one who said he touched her improperly, said Lt. Wallace Graves of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Pacific station.

Authorities have enough evidence to file criminal charges of sexual battery against Alvarez for allegedly touching one employee, but police are consulting with the FBI about how to pursue the matter, Graves said. John Hoos, an FBI spokesman, said he had no knowledge of the case.

The office of inspector general, a Justice Department internal oversight body, is also investigating, Moschorak said.

James Humble-Sanchez, president of the union that represents INS employees, maintained that Alvarez--influential in determining subordinates’ promotions, pay raises, work schedules and other career decisions--”was basically using his position to apply pressure on females to elicit sexual favors.”

The union, Humble-Sanchez said, is assisting victims who plan to file a class-action complaint against Alvarez with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that investigates allegations of job abuse based on race or sex.

“We don’t want this case to die an untimely death through neglect,” said Humble-Sanchez, whose American Federation of Government Employees, Local 505, represents more than 1,000 INS workers.