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Food

Audit Reveals Illegal Workers at Chipotle


By

Garth Johnston

Published Feb 8, 2011

Modified Feb 8, 2011


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By

Garth Johnston

Published Feb 8, 2011

Modified Feb 8, 2011


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Chipotle, the burrito purveying fast food chain we can't bring ourselves to hate, has hit some immigration troubles (excuse us if we refrain from the "run for the border" joke the Daily News went with). After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement audit into the chain's Minnesota operations led it to say good bye to hundreds of employees, the investigation of its hiring practices is now spreading into other states.

The problem, it seems, is that many of the publicly-traded restaurant's employees in the state were using fake I-9 forms and were not actually legal workers. It is unclear why the ICE chose the Minnesota operations to start with, but they've since informed the company that its employees in Virginia and Washington, D.C., are next to be inspected.

What makes this story interesting, besides delicious burritos, is the fact that the ICE is even looking at a company this size (it boasts 25,000 employees)—according to the Wall Street Journal such audits are normally performed on smaller outfits. Now we wait and see if the audit spreads to other states—like New York, home of many a Chipotle—as well.

Tagged

burritos

chipotle

Ilegal aliens

immigration and customs enforcement


Garth Johnston

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