[JURIST] The US Department of Homeland Security [official website] and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) [official website] announced a comprehensive plan to combat illegal immigration [press release] on Thursday which involves cracking down on companies that harbor illegal workers. The strategy is part of the Secure Border Initiative [fact sheet] to "revers[e] growing tolerance for the employment of illegal aliens and for illegal immigration in general," according to ICE Assistant Secretary Julie Myers [official profile].

As part of the plan, US government officials arrested over 1,100 employees of IFCO Systems [corporate website], a Dutch company that manufactures crates and pallets, at 40 locations throughout the United States for immigration violations. Immigrant rights groups contend that ICE is responding to immigrant support rallies [JURIST report] that have occurred across the US in recent weeks as the country debates immigration reform [JURIST news archive] measures. AP has more.