CHICAGO - Ten illegal aliens working at a Greek restaurant here were arrested yesterday afternoon by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents.

Those arrested were employed at Pegasus Restaurant at 130 S. Halsted in Chicago's Greektown neighborhood.

All those arrested are illegal aliens; they are in ICE custody and have been placed in removal proceedings for being in the U.S. in violation of immigration laws. Eight of those arrested are Mexican nationals; the other two are from Albania and Bulgaria.

ICE initiated the investigation into Pegasus in September 2006 after receiving information that a large number of illegal aliens using false social security numbers and fraudulent green cards were employed there. The investigation is ongoing.

"ICE aggressively enforces our nation's immigration laws," said Elissa A. Brown, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago. "As part of our enforcement strategy, ICE arrests illegal workers and seeks criminal charges against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers." Brown oversees a six-state region that includes: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin.

During fiscal year 2006, ICE arrested 718 individuals on criminal charges in worksite investigations and apprehended another 3,667 illegal workers on immigration violations, a more than three-fold increase compared to 2005.

This worksite enforcement operation is part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, Homeland Security seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. SBI also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement investigations and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside this country.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a new initiative to help employers ensure they are building legal workforce through voluntary partnerships with the government. Called the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE), the program is designed to build cooperative relationships between government and businesses to strengthen hiring practices and reduce the unlawful employment of illegal aliens. The initiative also seeks to accomplish greater industry compliance and corporate due diligence through enhanced federal training and education of employers. ICE strongly encourages employers to review IMAGE program materials available at www.ice.gov.

-- ICE --