Immigrants sue Cafe Express

So imagine you're an illegal immigrant who gets a job under a program that would help you get American citizenship, and then you find out the necessary paperwork wasn't filed by the deadline, so you get fired. That's the situation a group of immigrants working for Houston-based Cafe Express have found themselves in — and they've filed suit against Wendy's International, Cafe Express's parent company, over it.

The suit, filed Friday in state district court here, is a companion to a class-action suit filed last month in Dallas against Wendy's, Cafe Express and Boyar & Miller, the Houston law firm that was supposed to handle the paperwork for the 2001 legalization program under which the immigrants were working. Turns out the firm didn't file the papers on time, and when Wendy's found out, it was forced to fire the employees because they were illegal (if they were legitimately in the program, they wouldn't have had to be fired). It's left the 40 immigrants named in the suits in an odd situation:

"I put all my hope and faith in this company," said Daniel Olivares, who worked for Cafe Express for nine years before being fired in September. "It was devastating news for me and my family."

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Olivares said he was risking deportation to speak up for himself and his former co-workers. He said he has not looked for other work because he's afraid of being caught by the authorities.

"I'm not safe anymore," said Olivares, who has been in the country 14 years.

As for Wendy's, spokesman Bob Bertini said the company can't do much. "[We] had no idea these applications were not filed on time until late this summer," he told the AP. "Unfortunately, our hands are tied." Boyar & Miller didn't return the AP's calls.

The immigrants involved — though the suits name 40, attorneys say the number is closer to 100 — are suing for unspecified damages.