After more than two years of digging, the federal government is ending its investigation into Archer Western, a road-building company hired by the state that employed undocumented immigrants for years.
“The office is closing the matter,” said William Daniels, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida. Daniels confirmed no more charges will be brought as part of the probe, which was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plus several other federal agencies, as well as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Archer Western didn’t immediately respond to emails requesting comment Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
Undocumented workers built Florida’s roads — and died in the process
Officials opened the investigation after a PinellasCounty deputy was accidentally hit and killed by an Archer Western employee driving heavy machinery in 2022. The worker, Juan Ariel Molina-Salles, was in the country illegally. At least 18 of his coworkers on that state-funded construction site were also undocumented and have been indicted for using false documents, according to the federal government.
Archer Western has been hiring undocumented people since at least 2018, a Tampa Bay Times investigation found. The company put workers at an unusually high risk, as employees died at a rate more than double the construction industry average between 2016 and 2023. Undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens alike were crushed by heavy equipment, drowned and hit by cars. Half the company’s deaths in this period resulted in federal workplace safety citations, records show.
As more construction workers were indicted, several got reduced prison sentences because they had helped with the investigation, as officials looked into what leaders of the company knew.
Some investigators made comments that hinted that the case could grow. During an August trial for one of the undocumented workers, Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent Jeremy Fillie told a jury that there could be “over 100” instances of Archer Western workers using others’ identities. During an April court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Murray said the government was looking into whether Archer Western has “a pattern or practice of hiring illegal aliens.”
The closing of the investigation means only workers at the lowest level of the company received charges.
Archer Western and its partners have received nearly $1.6 billion in contracts from the state under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. The state of Florida knew about at least two of the company’s worker deaths, records show, and alleged in court that Archer Western’s negligence was to blame for one them — but still kept paying the company millions.
After the Times published its investigation into the company’s history, Florida lawmakers of both parties called on the state to act. But the state hasn’t announced any changes.
DeSantis state contractor was reported to feds a year before deputy death
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who had previously raised questions about Archer Western accepting poorly made fake IDs from its workers, said that this outcome was up to federal authorities.
“They investigated it over the last couple of years and made a decision that there’s insufficient evidence to bring any further charges against Archer Western or anyone else,” he said. “That’s their decision.”
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