FAIR questions whether Smith was aware of hiring illegal immigrants

What will happen to Gordon Smith from here will hinge on if he was aware that illegal immigrants may have been hired at Smith Frozen Foods, a spokesman for Federation for American Immigration Reform said Wednesday.

“The story as it plays out in Oregon will depend on whether or not there is any evidence he knowingly hired illegal workers,” said Jack Martin, a spokesman for FAIR.

A story published by the Willamette Week Wednesday suggested that Smith Frozen Foods, which Smith owns, may have been hiring and employing illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Martin said that the way the laws are currently written, an employer cannot knowingly hire an illegal immigrant, but there is a loophole that protects the employer.

“The employer is not held accountable in terms of verifying employability,” Martin said.

Smith has previously denied that there are illegal employees working at Smith Frozen Foods, but in the Willamette Week’s article, Smith Frozen Foods president Kelly Brown was less certain.

“I don’t know. It’s one of those things where we do the best we can do and we go forward,” Brown told The Week.