Jeanfromfillmore
07-15-2011, 01:09 AM
Undocumented immigrant allowed into Arizona nuclear plant?
TONOPAH, AZ - A contract worker and suspected undocumented immigrant has been arrested for trying to enter the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station with a fake identification card.
According to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, 32-year-old Cruz Loya Alvares was taken into custody after he reportedly admitted he has been in the country illegally for most of the past 15 years.
"How many other subjects have been going into that facility without proper ID," asked Arpaio. "And how many are in the country illegally?"
Arpaio said in a news release that Alvares tried to get into the nuclear power plant on Monday but was denied entry because his Mexican driver's license had expired.
Alvares apparently showed up again Tuesday with an Arizona identification card and was allowed onto the property. When plant authorities more closely examined the card, they said they thought it might have been illegitimate and contacted the Sheriff's Office.
Palo Verde spokesman Jim McDonald told ABC15 that Alvares was part of a crew hired to remodel an empty annex building that was well away from the protected security zone of the power plant.
"I would say to the people of Arizona and our customers that Palo Verde is extraordinarily safe," said McDonald. "Today's incident did nothing to compromise that."
Read a full statement from Arizona Public Service on the next page
McDonald said Alvares got through the first security zone on the property but was denied access to any portion of the property where top clearance is needed.
McDonald said when Alvares returned the next day, security personnel held him in an area near the security gate after determining his Arizona identification was not valid.
McDonald said Alvares had been working on the project for two weeks.
Arpaio said Alvares had apparently been deported in 2000 but paid a human smuggler to get back into the U.S.
"I'm concerned," said Arpaio.
Alvares also reportedly told deputies he was cited in Mesa last month for driving on a suspended license.
He was arrested Wednesday for criminal trespass at a nuclear power station.
STATEMENT ON CONTRACTOR DETAINED BY PALO VERDE SECURITY
PHOENIX – Security forces at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station worked with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) yesterday to detain and arrest a contractor who used false identification to enter the vehicle checkpoint located at the outer security perimeter of the 4,000-acre property. The safety of the plant or the public was never in question.
The individual was a subcontractor who had been on site over the past two weeks doing remodeling work at an administrative building.
At no time did the contractor have access to the protected area of the site, which is the inner security perimeter containing the reactor buildings and equipment important to the operation of the plant. Areas within nuclear power plants have multiple levels of security based on their significance. These security measures include armed security officers, physical barriers and detection zones, and a rigorous series of background investigations for individuals. Each increasingly more sensitive area of a nuclear plant requires higher and higher security clearance.
The primary purpose of the vehicle checkpoint is to search for weapons, explosives or other prohibited materials rather than to screen individuals. The driver of a vehicle seeking to enter the property through the vehicle checkpoint must present a valid government-issued ID and that individual can confirm identity for other individuals in the vehicle.
On Tuesday, July 12, the contractor attempted to enter the vehicle checkpoint to report for work. He presented an expired Mexican driver’s license and was denied access to the site.
The contractor returned to the plant the next day, Wednesday, July 13, at about 5 a.m. He presented what appeared to be government-issued identification and was permitted to pass through the vehicle checkpoint and go to his work location.
However, Palo Verde security forces noted irregularities with the identification that led them to investigate its authenticity. They photographed the identification card and contacted MCSO. After MCSO informed Palo Verde security officers that the identification was invalid, plant security detained the contractor and turned him over to MCSO deputies for processing.
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_central_southern_az/other/undocumented-immigrant-allowed-into-arizona-nuclear-plant
TONOPAH, AZ - A contract worker and suspected undocumented immigrant has been arrested for trying to enter the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station with a fake identification card.
According to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, 32-year-old Cruz Loya Alvares was taken into custody after he reportedly admitted he has been in the country illegally for most of the past 15 years.
"How many other subjects have been going into that facility without proper ID," asked Arpaio. "And how many are in the country illegally?"
Arpaio said in a news release that Alvares tried to get into the nuclear power plant on Monday but was denied entry because his Mexican driver's license had expired.
Alvares apparently showed up again Tuesday with an Arizona identification card and was allowed onto the property. When plant authorities more closely examined the card, they said they thought it might have been illegitimate and contacted the Sheriff's Office.
Palo Verde spokesman Jim McDonald told ABC15 that Alvares was part of a crew hired to remodel an empty annex building that was well away from the protected security zone of the power plant.
"I would say to the people of Arizona and our customers that Palo Verde is extraordinarily safe," said McDonald. "Today's incident did nothing to compromise that."
Read a full statement from Arizona Public Service on the next page
McDonald said Alvares got through the first security zone on the property but was denied access to any portion of the property where top clearance is needed.
McDonald said when Alvares returned the next day, security personnel held him in an area near the security gate after determining his Arizona identification was not valid.
McDonald said Alvares had been working on the project for two weeks.
Arpaio said Alvares had apparently been deported in 2000 but paid a human smuggler to get back into the U.S.
"I'm concerned," said Arpaio.
Alvares also reportedly told deputies he was cited in Mesa last month for driving on a suspended license.
He was arrested Wednesday for criminal trespass at a nuclear power station.
STATEMENT ON CONTRACTOR DETAINED BY PALO VERDE SECURITY
PHOENIX – Security forces at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station worked with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) yesterday to detain and arrest a contractor who used false identification to enter the vehicle checkpoint located at the outer security perimeter of the 4,000-acre property. The safety of the plant or the public was never in question.
The individual was a subcontractor who had been on site over the past two weeks doing remodeling work at an administrative building.
At no time did the contractor have access to the protected area of the site, which is the inner security perimeter containing the reactor buildings and equipment important to the operation of the plant. Areas within nuclear power plants have multiple levels of security based on their significance. These security measures include armed security officers, physical barriers and detection zones, and a rigorous series of background investigations for individuals. Each increasingly more sensitive area of a nuclear plant requires higher and higher security clearance.
The primary purpose of the vehicle checkpoint is to search for weapons, explosives or other prohibited materials rather than to screen individuals. The driver of a vehicle seeking to enter the property through the vehicle checkpoint must present a valid government-issued ID and that individual can confirm identity for other individuals in the vehicle.
On Tuesday, July 12, the contractor attempted to enter the vehicle checkpoint to report for work. He presented an expired Mexican driver’s license and was denied access to the site.
The contractor returned to the plant the next day, Wednesday, July 13, at about 5 a.m. He presented what appeared to be government-issued identification and was permitted to pass through the vehicle checkpoint and go to his work location.
However, Palo Verde security forces noted irregularities with the identification that led them to investigate its authenticity. They photographed the identification card and contacted MCSO. After MCSO informed Palo Verde security officers that the identification was invalid, plant security detained the contractor and turned him over to MCSO deputies for processing.
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_central_southern_az/other/undocumented-immigrant-allowed-into-arizona-nuclear-plant