Immigration authorities have begun deportation procedures against six Mexicans discovered working illegally for a contractor at the air base in Homestead.

BY ROBERT L. STEINBACK

A routine check of identification documents by security personnel at Homestead Air Reserve Base Tuesday led to the detention of six Mexican nationals who were working illegally for a Texas company hired to resurface the main runway, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported.

The six men, who were not identified, did not have access to aircraft or personnel, said Lt. Col. Tom Davis, chief of public affairs for the base.

''They were part of a contractor in the process of resurfacing the airfield,'' Davis said. ''Every [contract employee] is issued a badge. Before a contractor can work on base, he has to provide a list of personnel. Our security officers found some anomalies'' in the documents presented by three of the company's 60 job-site workers.

Davis declined to say precisely what problem security agents of the 482nd Fighter Wing spotted. After the first three questionable sets of documents were found, base security officials called the immigration department. Agents checked documentation for all of the company's employees and identified three more Mexican nationals working illegally, Davis said.

Neither Davis nor agency spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez would identify the Texas company, citing a continuing investigation.

''All of those arrested have been placed into administrative removal proceedings for being in the country illegally,'' Gonzalez said.

''Security forces personnel displayed exceptional diligence in detecting these individuals and ensuring the security of the Homestead Air Reserve Base and our workers,'' Randall G. Falcon, commander of the 482nd Fighter Wing, said in a statement.

The company has been working for several months to resurface the airstrip, the longest in South Florida, which once served large B-52 bombers stationed at the base.