A Subway employee was arrested for installing a hidden camera in the bathroom of the Noroton Heights Subway catching customers unknowingly on film. He now faces deportation charges as he was an illegal immigrant.
After being caught placing a camera in the unisex bathroom at the Noroton Heights Subway, Bridgeport resident and former Subway employee Marco Dias now faces deportation charges since his visa expired in 2005.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Dias, a Brazil citizen, was issued a visa in 2000 but failed to renew it once it expired. Dias is currently in Connecticut custody while he awaits trial for three felony counts of voyeurism with intent to arouse or satisfy sexual desire.
Subway hired Dias roughly two years ago, according to Subway manager Nadim Rana, who manages the Post Road and Noroton Heights locations. He was working part time, Rana said, or roughly 10 hours per week, and was hired by a manager who is no longer at the store.
Dias faces up to 15 years in prison and $15,000 in fines if convicted. Deportation proceedings are in the works, but it is not guaranteed that he will be deported, noted Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
MARCO DIAS
“Once local charges are fully adjudicated, he will be turned over to ICE and placed in removal proceedings,” Feinstein stated in an email. Deportation requires cooperation with Dias’ native country.
A driver for an armored car service spotted the hidden camera underneath the sink at the Noroton Heights Subway on Monday, July 30. Darien Police expedited the investigation and arrested Dias four days later.
Darien Police Capt. Fred Komm said the footage contained images of two employees in the bathroom as well as another person who has yet to be identified. It’s unclear how long the camera was in use. The footage is being held as evidence in the case.
Subway spokesman Kevin Cane apologized for the incident, but emphasized that each store operates as an independent franchise and is responsible for its own hiring practices.
“All Subway restaurants are individually owned and operated by independent franchisees,” Cane stated in an email to The Darien Times. “While the hiring and staffing of the restaurant is the sole responsibility of the franchisee, the brand requires franchisees to follow all applicable laws and regulations.”
Rana also apologized for the incident, and said his store is now performing background checks on all applicants, and is also vetting current employees to make sure everyone is authorized to work in the United States.
ICE spokesman Feinstein declined to comment on whether Subway’s hiring practices are under investigation, but he said a single incident is generally not enough to launch and investigation. Subway would likely face no fines for hiring Dias illegally, Feinstein added.
Marie Danna, whose husband’s family owned Linden Cleaners for 60 years and also owns the building that houses the Noroton Heights Subway, told The Times that as a past employer, vetting applicants can be difficult.
“It’s not easy for employers to know whether documents are real,” Danna said. “It’s a fine line and it’s very difficult.”
Danna said the cleaners was once notified that an employee’s green card had expired, and they had to take the proper action to ensure they weren’t breaking any laws.
Many illegal immigrants apply for jobs with fake IDs and social security numbers, Feinstein said, making it difficult for employers to know if someone is actually able to work.
This past June, ICE agents arrested 22 people from six states in connection with a scheme to provide illegal aliens with driver’s licenses, investor visas or student visas. One of the arrestees was contract employee of U.S. Customs and Immigration Service and was charged with stealing and providing forms used to aid the scheme.
There are an estimated 11.5 million illegal immigrants in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Of all illegal immigrants living in the United States in 2011, 55% entered between 1995 and 2004. Dias arrived in the states 12 years ago, according to federal records.
Entrants since 2005 accounted for only 14% of the total, according to homeland security, and 59% of illegal immigrants in 2011 were from Mexico.
Immigration processes have gotten increasingly complex since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, according to a study by Erick C. Laque published in the Social Sciences Journal last year. The Department of Homeland Security was established after that, which took over all immigration duties from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS.
“The government’s focus on the war against terrorism has essentially blurred the lines between immigration and terrorism,” Laque wrote.
The U.S.A. Patriot Act (a backronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) authorized federal agents to arrest non-citizens on immigration grounds and imprison them without due process and without public knowledge. Arizona legislation from 2010 empowered local police to question and detain anyone they suspected to be an illegal alien.
Even though the United States was settled by European immigrants who, by today’s standards, might be considered illegal immigrants themselves, the U.S. began to crack down on immigration long before Sept. 11. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in the late 1800s, and completely closed immigration from China and banned any Chinese immigrant from becoming a U.S. citizen. The act was repealed when the U.S. and China became allies in World War 2.
Dias came to the country legally but allowed his green card to expire.
Entering the country legally can cost thousands of dollars for the federal fees alone, on top of the legal fees should an immigrant determine that representation is needed. Renewing one’s green card can also cost thousands in some cases, according to immigration documents.
Subway’s spokesman, Kevin Cane, said his company is aware of the allegations against Dias.
“We do not condone the alleged behavior and can assure our customers that this is not the business practice used by Subway franchisees,” Cane said.
He declined further comment. Dias is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, Aug. 31.
ddesroches@darientimes.com
