Wal-Mart temporarily halted construction of a Supercenter and Sam's Club in Bismarck, North Dakota, a day after two illegal immigrants working on the projects were charged with molesting two 13-year-old girls.
A Wal-Mart spokesman says work was halted for several hours on Tuesday, but resumed later in the day after authorities checked workers' documentation.
He says the two illegal workers appeared to be employed by a subcontractor hired by the project's main contractor, Weis Builders of Minneapolis.
A woman who answered the telephone at Weis Builders hung up on an Associated Press reporter seeking comment.
Twenty-one-year-old Julio Alvarez and 30-year-old Carlos Martinez are charged with gross sexual imposition in a North Dakota district court. Both are Mexican nationals. They are being held without bond.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
