23 illegal immigrants arrested in fake security badges case

Nearly two dozen illegal immigrants were arrested Wednesday, accused of using fake security badges to work in critical areas of O’Hare International Airport, including the tarmac, authorities said.

The 23 illegal workers were employed by Ideal Staffing Solutions Inc., whose corporate secretary and office manager also were arrested.

The company contracted work for carriers that included United Airlines, KLM and Qantas, said Elissa A. Brown, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Much of the investigation centered on the airport security badges issued by the Department of Aviation. Agents found that 110 of the 134 badges issued to Ideal Staffing workers did not match the individuals.

The workers arrested, 21 from Mexico and two from Guatemala, were being held in the Cook County Jail.

According to affidavits in a complaint against the two company managers, the applications for the 110 bogus badges listed Social Security numbers that either did not exist or belonged to other individuals, some of whom were dead.

One affidavit from a temporary worker who cooperated with authorities said he was told to look through a box containing about 20 airport security badges and to pick one with a picture that resembled his own face.