Ongoing Investigation of Illegal Immigrants Working in the Poconos, PA

Iridium Industries, a company located in the Poconos who makes plastic tubes for companies such as L'Oreal and Victoria's Secret, is under investigation for the employment of illegal immigrants. Eighty-one employees, none of which had any proper papers for working in the United States, were arrested and placed in detention centers temporarily. The workers all immigrated from countries that include Malaysia, Ecuador, Mexico and Indonesia. The main problem, which has lead to further investigation, is that all of the employees were hired through a temporary employment agency called H&T Staffing. This has caused a lot of questions about who is really to blame in this situation - Iridium industries or H&T Staffing.

According to the Pocono Record, other employees of the company have claimed that Iridium Industries had created a sweatshop-like environment for the illegal workers. They were only allowed to take a day off once every month, were forced to work twelve hour shifts seven days a week, and were not paid overtime. The American employees only had to work three days a week for twelve hours. The rest of the environment also seems to be quite unfit, without any air conditioners or proper bathroom facilities for the number of people who had been working there. Iridium Industries claims that they did not know that the eighty-one employees were illegal immigrants. Many employees feel that they did know the status of their employees and that they were taking advantage of the illegal workers. The workers, of course, would not have reported anything, in fear of getting in trouble from working illegally in the first place.

It is believed that there are also a high number of illegal immigrants employed at other companies through temporary employment agencies also. As of right now, there are about thirty other companies in the Poconos which are undergoing investigation for illegal immigrants as well. One of the companies which is being investigated that is the most well known is Hayward Laboratories, whose main customer is Palmer's Cocoa Butter.