The workers were hired by subcontractors working for Balfour Beatty Construction. The smaller firms were not immediately fired for the offense.

All 12 had fake IDs and one had forged work papers, said Jean Offutt, the Fort Bliss public information officer. They were detained and then turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Military police received a tip about illegal immigrants working on post, Offutt said. They checked 335 workers for identification and found 12 with false IDs. The workers?EUR??,,????'?????<

The immigrants all worked for subcontractors hired by Balfour Beatty, a contractor that has a landscaping contract for the post, Offutt said.

Fort Bliss, an Army post near El Paso, is undergoing a $3 billion expansion as it prepares to increase by 20,000 active duty personnel within the next three to four years.

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