Port of Miami-Dade Reclaims ID Cards, Hopes to Overcome Security Breach

When José Rodréguez's drivers tried to enter the Port of Miami-Dade to deliver their customer's cargo, they were surprised when officers confiscated their identity cards.

Rodréguez said the port took a week to replace the identity cards, leaving his six drivers without a week's worth of pay -- $1,200 to $1,400 apiece -- back in August.

The six are among 13,000 identification cards yanked since mid-June from port workers -- who range from truckers to longshoremen. The problem stems from the March investigation of a Miami-Dade police officer who issued 130 tainted badges.

Now, the resulting sweeping reissue of all port ID cards is adding to the litany of problems plaguing operations at the Port of Miami-Dade since mid-summer, including a work stoppage by truckers, increased security concerns and management problems at the terminals that lease the facilities from the port. And drivers say the badge problem is costing them more money when they're already strapped.

"How would you feel if you had a driver in the port for four, five hours doing nothing?'' said Rodréguez, whose company, Queen Transport, usually sees revenue of about $1 million a year. ``I don't think we can do anything about it. They do whatever they want.''

Rodréguez figures he has lost between $10,000 to $20,000 a week in business over the past two months, after seeing business cut from six containers per driver each day to three containers.

This process involves confiscating IDs from port users, who then have to reapply at the department's on-site office for a fee of $60. They must appear in person to verify their identities and backgrounds, give their fingerprints, which are also cross-referenced with both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and national criminal records, and confirm that they are employed.

''We know some deactivations have caused interruptions and service issues,'' said Nelson Oramas, the assistant port director for security at the Port of Miami-Dade, who has received calls every day since mid-June about the issue. ``This is the price of working and being able to function in today's high-service environments.''

The IDs were deactivated following the March investigation of 24-year police veteran Glenda Wingard, who is suspected of having sold badges illegally or issued IDs without essential criminal background checks, Oramas said. Wingard, who was removed from the port and assigned to clerical duties, was also being investigated for providing a port badge to her son.

Wingard's case is still being investigated, said Robert Williams, spokesman for the Miami-Dade police.

The port, which is working with the United States Coast Guard, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Miami-Dade police on the investigation, said the process is also part of its attempts to establish higher standards of security.

''From a security standpoint, access control to port facilities is an important element of the overall security plan,'' said Tony Russell, spokesman for the 7th Coast Guard district. ``You need to know who is coming onto the port, who is coming on for security reasons and ensure they have legitimate business within the port.''

As for the IDs, ''a fairly large number'' have been checked so far, Williams said. About 1 percent of the 13,000 IDs were illegally issued, Oramas said.

But companies say they shouldn't have to pay for someone else's mistake.

Gina Devine, the president of TGL, a cruise ship waste management company based in Davie, couldn't enter the port to service her ships. Her driver waited in an office for five hours to get a new ID. Meanwhile, one of her garbage cans sat on the dock in violation of codes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

''I am so frustrated,'' said Devine, who is thankful that most of her business goes on at Broward County's Port Everglades.

Enrique Alemany's ID was confiscated twice. The stevedore for Eller-ITO first had his ID deactivated in late July. The following week, Homeland Security officers confiscated his ID again, saying that he was still on a list of people whose IDs had to be checked.

So he had to take time off again. When he returned to the ID office, the officers there couldn't find his confiscated ID and issued him a new one.

The port's problems have also affected those who work in the offices.

Raul Iglesias, a royalty clerk at the International Longshoremen Association, was hoping to renew his ID but the port took so long to issue a new pass that he lost more than $700 in pay.

''We all understand the need to have fingerprints done but why do things this way? You stop people with a legal ID, confiscate it and tell them to go the ID office and get fingerprints, we have to pay $60 and lose three days of work,'' said Iglesias, 59.