Inside ICE: Volume 2, Issue 13

ICE Nabs Owners for Providing Illegal Labor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A South African businessman was arrested here with his girlfriend and business partner June 2 for a scheme to fraudulently bring workers into the United States.

Petrus J. Botes, 50, was allegedly involved in a scheme to bring in workers from South Africa on temporary work visas (H-2A) to work for employers other than those designated. Arrested with Botes was Joyce Yvonne Coetzee, 39, who was indicted on three counts of encouraging an illegal alien to reside in the U.S. Botes and Coetzee, both South African nationals, were indicted by a federal grand jury.

The indictments and arrests follow an extensive investigation by ICE and the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of the Inspector General.

Botes and Coetzee formed a Kansas company in 2001 to act as an agent to employers interested in obtaining foreign workers through the DOL Foreign Labor Certification program. The company provided workers for agricultural and trucking operations in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and North and South Dakota.

Botes and Coetzee are accused of filing foreign labor petitions for potential employers with or without their consent, and filing for more workers than employers actually needed. They’re also accused of forging employers’ signatures and falsifying job descriptions and the nature of the businesses.

After receiving the visa approvals, Botes and Coetzee allegedly sent workers to employers that were not designated on the visa petitions. H2A employment visas do not allow workers to change employers without authorization.

“Both Botes and Coetzee are accused of blatantly abusing immigration and labor laws with their scheme,” said Elissa Brown, Special-Agent-in-Charge of the ICE Chicago office. “They allegedly operated their business with no regard for the workers, the employers, or the laws involved.”

ICE and DOL agents searched Botes and Coetzee’s residence in Bennington, Kan.. Both had also been convicted on visa charges in Kansas in 2002 and recently received final orders of deportation. Those orders will be reinstated following any trial that may take place. Should they be convicted on these charges, they would first serve the sentence and then be deported.

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Inside ICE is an e-newsletter produced by the ICE Office of Public Affairs to inform the public about the mission, operations and activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Please send comments and contributions to Russ Bergeron, Editor.

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