Jefferson Co. business owner speaks out after feds detain workers

TOWN OF LERAY, New York (WWNY) – “They’re not taking criminals.” That’s what a Jefferson County business owner is saying after immigration officials recently detained 4 employees, prompting 8 others to stop showing up for work.

Dan Tontarski owns FABCO in the town of LeRay. His company designs and manufactures roof and floor trusses.

He describes the production end of the business as “hard, physical work” that few Americans are willing to do. He says he has relied on immigrants.

Tontarski says he began leasing employees from another company, which assured him the workers had the proper documents to be in the U.S. He declined to disclose the name of the company.

The people behind the arrests

Last Thursday, Tontarski says law enforcement officials detained 4 employees who were on their way to work.

He says 2 of the detained workers, a man and a woman believed to be married, had worked for him for a year. He says the couple planned to return to their native Guatemala after making enough money to build a home there. He says they recently told him they went to New York City to renew their visas.

“These are nice young people, respectful, hard workers,” Tontarski said. They’re not taking criminals.”

He says he invested a lot of training into the employees

He believes the woman is in a detention center in Louisiana, and the man is detained in a different state, possibly Texas.

The fallout

Tontarski says the arrests have had a chilling and devastating effect on his business.

He says 8 other employees stopped coming to work as a result.

“These people are scared. They’re shaking,” said Tontarski.

He says immigration police sat outside, waiting for workers to leave their Watertown apartments. They stayed inside, not going to their jobs. He says the employees fled the area in the middle of the night.

“I feel sad for these people,” said Tontarski.

The effect on business

Tontarski says that without these workers, his business has seen a 40 percent drop in production. Deliveries are now delayed by a month.

The 12 employees he lost were a third of his production workforce.

He’s working to fill the empty jobs, but it has been a challenge.

Tontarski says he’s a strong supporter of immigration reform. He adds that he’s “not against the theory” of removing undocumented immigrants from the U.S., but “there needs to be a plan.”

Official comment

7 News has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A spokesperson for CBP issued the following statement: “On July 24, US Border Patrol agents from the Wellesley Island Station arrested four illegal aliens (3 males and 1 female) pursuant to an immigration traffic stop at the intersection of Water Street and State Route 3, Watertown, NY. Two were from Mexico and two from Guatemala. All four illegal aliens were transported to Wellesley Island Station for processing and turned over to ICE for deportation proceedings.”

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