(AP) — Charges this week against six people involved with Chinese restaurants in Kansas and Missouri mark the latest in an effort by federal prosecutors in Kansas to crack down on businesses that hire and harbor people who are illegally in the U.S.

 

The owners of restaurants in Olathe, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., were charged Wednesday with “harboring undocumented workers” more than two years after federal agents began watching the businesses.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says his office is going after companies that violate federal law by hiring workers who aren’t allowed to work in the U.S. so they can pay them less than minimum wage and avoid other costs associated with being an employer.