BURLINGTON — Federal authorities have filed a criminal charge against one of the 14 construction workers detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an early morning raid last Thursday, according to court documents.
Luis Suarez-Lopez was detained by ICE in a 5 a.m. raid on the Days Inn in Colchester last Thursday. He is facing one count of illegal re-entry into the United States. A formal arraignment has been scheduled for early next month.
In an affidavit filed in Vermont District Court Friday, ICE agent Robert Berger wrote that his agency was tipped off about the construction workers, who they suspected were in the country illegally, by the U.S. Marshals Service Jan. 8. The federal agents worked with other law enforcement personnel, according to the affidavit; the other agencies were not named.
Suarez-Lopez is a citizen of the Dominican Republic, Berger wrote, and has a history of attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. He applied for admission to the U.S. in 2003 using a fake Puerto Rican birth certificate, and was “removed” to the Dominican Republic. In 2006 and in 2009, he was arrested in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in both cases sent back to the Dominican Republic.
During his 2009 arrest, he was also charged with illegal re-entry.
Motel staff declined to name the construction company that employed Suarez-Lopez and the 13 others detained by ICE. Darcy Church, general manager of the Days Inn, said no one on the Days Inn staff tipped ICE off to the workers. Will Lambek, a spokesman for the immigrant rights group Migrant Justice, also declined to name the construction company.
Michael Desautels, the federal public defender, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday. Desautels’ office will be representing Suarez-Lopez.
John Mohan, a spokesman for ICE, and Kraig Laporte, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Vermont, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Suarez-Lopez is being held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans. The 13 other workers who were detained are being held at the Strafford County Jail in New Hampshire, Lambek said.
