CHICAGO, USA -- According to a Ghanaian living in Chicago, two ghanaians were among the immigrants, working illegally at Sears Tower, who were arrested by federal authorities on Thursday.
Immigration officials said security concerns prompted the crackdown and would not confirm the number of people arrested, their countries of origin or when the arrests were made. They said Thursday the arrests were necessary to protect the 110-story building from terrorism.
Gail Montenegro, spokeswoman for the Chicago office of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said immigrants working illegally may be law abiding but are vulnerable to being blackmailed by terrorists.
Critics said the arrests do nothing to make the building or Chicago safer.
"This is really an outrageous abuse of national security rhetoric to scapegoat people who are doing nothing but working in restaurants," said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for the Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Sears Tower spokesman Mark Spencer said the immigrants worked for tenants of the building, not for the building itself.
