Immigrants Caught In Fugitive Dragnet

San Diego- More than one-third of 18,000 people arrested in a nearly yearlong federal crackdown on illegal imigrants were not the people authorities targeted, according to government figures.
The so-called collateral arrests involved people picked up by immigration agents while seeking fugitives such as drug smugglers, theives, drunken drivers and others who flouted deportation orders.

Ny Times
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Arrest In Immigration Raid
Immigration agents arrested two managers and 60 other employees of an industrial cleaning company on immigration violations and charges of identity theft in a raid at a central Illinois meatpacking plant.

Immigration Raid Yields 62 Arrests In Illinois
By Libby Sander
CHICAGO, April 4 -- Immigraton agents arrest two managers and 60 other employees of an industrial cleaning company Wednesday on immigration violations and charges of identity theft in an early morning raid at a meatpacking plant in central Illinois.
The operation was the latest in a string of raids by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement on companies accused of employing illegal immigrants who, in some cases, are alleged to have stolen the identities of American citizens to create false identification documents.
The raid occurred at 1:30 a.m. at Cargill Meat Solutions in Beadstown, a twon of 6,000 people northwest of Springfield, where the cleaning company, Quality Service Integrity Inc., was under contract to clean Cargill's pork processing plant.
The two managers, who officials said are Mexicans in the United States illegally, and 11 of the workers arrested Wednesday were charged with aggravated identity theft. Identity theft charges were brought against 14 additional employees of the cleaning service, but they have not yet been arrested, said Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the immigration agency.
Forty-nine employees were taken into custody for alleged immigration violations. In all, 54 of the 62 people arrested are from Mexico; 5 are from Guatamala; 2 from El Salvador and 1 from Argentian, Ms. Montenegro said.
Eleven of the workers taken into custody were released on humanitarian grounds, officials said.
Neither Cargill nor any of the 2,200 employees at its Beardstown facility were objects of the investigation, officials said.
The two managers are Gerardo DominGuez-Chacon, who manages the cleaning company's Beardstown operation, and Maria del Pilar Maroquin de Ramirez, the company's personnel adminstrator. Both are charged in a criminal complaint with aggravated identity theft and with "aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft in connection with the alleged hiring of illegal immigrants." If convicted, they face at least two years in prison.
Prosecutors said that the two managers knowingly hired illegal immigrants and that Mr. DominGuez-Chacon provided new employees with stolen identities and gave illegal immigrants information on how to obtain false identification documents.
The cleaning service is described on a company Web site as a member of the Vincit Group, which is based in Chattanooga, Tenn. A woman answering the telephone at Vincit said no one was available to comment.
The investigation into the cleaning company's hiring practices began in January, officials said, and revealed that most of the company's work force was illegal immigrants.
In December, immigration agents raided six meat-processing plants operated by Swift and Company in six states, detaining 1,282 immigrants believed to be in the country illegally and charging 219 so far, mostly with identity theft.
Since the Swift raids, smaller raids have occurred in many states. Immigration authorities say they are stepping up efforts to go after companies that engage in the trafficking of false and stolen documents used by illegal immigrants to obtain employment.
Last week, agents arrested 69 immigrants placed by a temporary job agency, Jones Industrial Network, at work sites in the Baltimore area. In early March, more than 360 people, including the owner and three managers, were arrested at Michael Bianco Inc., a leather goods manufacturer in New Bedford, Mass.
Three days after the Massachusetts raid, charges were brought against the president of Sun Drywall and Stucco, an Arizona construction company, and seven managers accused of hiring illegal immigrants.
And in Michigan, federal prosecutors brought charges in February against three executives of Rosenbaum-Cunningham International, a cleaning and maintenance company, alleging that the three defrauded the federal government of more than $18 million in employment taxes owed on behalf of hundreds of illegal immigrant workers. Nearly 200 immigrant workers in 17 states and the District of Columbia were arrested as part of the investigation.

quote:

Originally posted by explora:
Ny Times
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Arrest In Immigration Raid
Neither Cargill nor any of the 2,200 employees at its Beardstown facility were objects of the investigation, officials said.

Yeah, it wasn't mentioned here whether Cargill had any knowledge of them hiring illegals. Of course, like Wal-Mart and all the rest, they'd say they didn't know they weren't being screened. When I saw the name Cargill I was surprised seeing it in this article. When I read the above-referenced paragraph it didn't surprise me when it said they weren't the object of the investigation. Probably paid them off to leave them out of any negative publicity such as being questioned if they aware.

quote:

Originally posted by Theone:
Countries such as Mexico can not participate in the DV because of the numbers of immigrants they send to the US, Kennedy made a special arrangement to let the Irish in, no logic.

Wasn't Kennedy of Irish descent?

quote:

Originally posted by explora:
U.S. Raid on an Immigrant Household Deepens Anger and Mistrust
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Published: April 10, 2007
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. — Awakened by banging on the front door and the shouts of strangers inside her family’s sprawling suburban home, Erica Leon, 12, thought at first that the house was on fire.....”

NY Times
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Letters
Immigration, Through Many Lenses
To the Editor:
"U.S. Raid on an Immigrant Household Deepens Anger and Mistrust on L.I." (news article, April 10) illustrates the ugly zenophobia, racism, classism and cultural intolerance underlying the anti-immigrant furor that has swept the country.
It appears that the Leon family was targeted by both local and federal authorities chiefly for the "offense" of being relatively poor Hispanics in the wealthy Hampstons.
What is particularly egregious is that many prosperous people who object so loudly to the presence of Hispanic Immigrants have no problem with such immigrants -- legal or illegal -- when they are cleaning the houses of the affluent, mowing lawns or doing construction work, all for low wages.
John S. Koppel
Besthada, Md., April 10, 2007

I submitted this letter to editor of local newspaper Dec 2005. At that time many letters were submitted regarding the Spanish language. Notice that I state if Jose can hit home runs, crops harvested and finishing touches on homes, nobody notices what language they speak.

Spanish Speakers Have Value

Regarding the letter, "Avoid Spanish" [Oct. 23], it reeks of racism at the highest level. The United States enjoys a unique heritage of Spanish-speaking people from all walks of life. Hispanics are represented at every level of society and are the fastest-growing group in this country. May I remind the writer that she rethink her position on this issue when she considers:

That a great number of people residing in these "united states" are citizens by birth and naturalization, and, as such, deserve respect of their human dignity.

That they are entitled to that American heritage of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Additionally, those whom we label "illegal immigrants" are often grouped into that category by virtue of their surnames, how they look, and because of America's history of racial bigotry and prejudices. Yet a large percentage of these people have become Americans by virtue of their marital status, by taking the initiative to qualify themselves toward meeting all requirements prerequisite to citizenship or by being sponsored by a legal resident of this country.

To be sure, this nation is indeed predominantly English-speaking. But lest we forget, those much-despised Spanishspeaking people are the ones who directly and indirectly provide a substantial part of our livelihood. Hispanics are a large percentage of the targeted population by corporate America. Their buying power and economic offerings suggest the necessity of bilingual marketing tools.

And if mainstream-American company managements desire continual workers for hire who don't resist their below-minimum-wage salaries, then it would be to their advantage to seek effective ways of communicating with these employees.

If "Jose" can hit numerous home runs, or harvest our crops, or provide the finishing touches in multimillion-dollar construction work, no one will notice what language he speaks.

Spanish is just as much a universal language as English and, like it or not, it's here to stay in America.

Mind Your Manners, And You'll Be Speaking My Language
Published: Apr 13, 2007
By Fernando Figueroa

I was sitting with two very good friends recently, when one of them remarked: "Why don't "those people" learn to speak English?"

That kind of terminology usually makes my blood boil because of the implied inferiority of the term "those people." But I held my tongue and kept listening.

"Yeah … I hate it when they start speaking Spanish in front of you and they don't speak English," the other friend went on.

And then it dawned on me: The problem that many monolingual folks have with us bilingual people isn't where we come from or how we got here, but the lack of manners when we exclude others from a conversation conducted in a foreign language.

It's not "English only" that's the issue. It's etiquette.

I seriously doubt that an illegal immigrant who risks crossing the border and goes through that whole ordeal was saying to himself: "Cuando llegue a los Estados Unidos lo unico que voy a hacer es quitarle el trabajo a un Americano y hablar Espanol para destruir la fabrica cultural de el pais."

Translation: "When I get to the United States the only thing that I will do is take the job of an American citizen and speak only Spanish in order to destroy the cultural fabric of the country."

Very unlikely.

The fact is that any immigrant, whether legal or illegal, should soon recognize that learning English is necessary to survive and thrive. Not doing so means economic stagnation and that defeats the purpose of the difficult journey to get here.

Somewhere along the way Americans have been dealing with so many issues of race, discrimination and language that we've never addressed the issue of etiquette between the cultures.

It's true there are bigots out there. "Those people" have their own set of personal issues they need to work out. "Those people" are not my concern because I believe they are a minority of Americans.

But if you are carrying on a conversation in your language and there's a third party standing there who does not understand, you have to translate. It's good manners.

But you monolinguals aren't off the hook either. If people are carrying on a conversation in a language that you do not understand, ask them nicely to translate.

I understand that it is not easy to interrupt an ongoing conversation. But I would argue that these little social transgressions lead to big misunderstandings and ill will.

So the next time you want to complain about "those people" (which when used to refer to an ethnic group, isn't kosher at all) not speaking your language, try instead to communicate with them.

And if you're speaking Spanish or any other language and not including those around you, remember you're the one being an elitist snob.

I recall a few years ago where I was sitting with two other co-workers of whom was bilingual. The two were conversing and had basically concluded their conversation when another co-worker approached the bilingual guy commencing to speak in Spanish. The two conversed as the other just sat aside of them listening but not understanding. In our work environment it is common to be in a discussion, conclude it and begin another with someone else excluding others at the same time.
I asked the bilingual why he didn't continue speaking in English since the other was still there. (The other was actually slacking on his work and resting.) He said there are many things that it's easier for us to say in Spanish than English. I personally feel he should've at least stopped and informed the other of what the topic was about, for instance, "We're discussing the ....." It would have been more courteous. I discussed it with the English speaker and he was so open and honest telling me, "I felt left out." I had already knew it was easier for the others to converse in Spanish and I explained it to this individual which he understood and accepted.
I also enlightened him to the fact that I feel left out sometimes when each and everyone of them (including him) can stand there and look each other in the eyes speaking English with each other (males) and don't include me (female) in conversation. The same occurs with male superiors giving work-related directives. They have a tendancy to look at the male and not the female (similar to some car salesmens). I told my co-worker that the next time he feels left out when listening to a bi-lingual speaker then he'll remember how I feel sometimes when I'm left out and not even looked at. (By the way, I'm verbal and if I want to interrupt I do when appropriate. Just trying to express my point here.)
So, it's not just bi-lingual speakers that might exclude others, a lot of males in our society still overlook females and in a language we both speak.

There's one thing about this country, and that's that people love diversity. "American Culture" is nothing but a compound of many cultures and life styles, assimilated, twisted, transformed and integrated into rich traditions passed on from one generation to the next. Culture is not about uniformity, it's about diversity, about evolution, change and adaptation.

This is why it's strange and cause for concern to watch some people talk about "protecting the uniformity of the American culture", the statement doesn't make much sense, it would appear to be forced speech to convey racial issues but people are well aware of that, it's never going to work in a highly evolved society such as this one.

I'm all for making English the official language, every society needs one backbone and there's nothing better or more effective than language. Official languages are one thing, trying to erase all traces of "foreign" or "non-white" culture is another. Remember WWII and how the "Navajo code talkers" saved the day by simply employing a "language code" in their own native dialect, and the Germans just couldn't break it. All other "codes" were broken, but not the "Navajo" code. Culture? Culture can save lives!

If the absurd concept of "uniformity" was to be applied then please answer, who has it right when it comes to pizza, Chicago or New York? Is pizza even going to be allowed as an "american food"? This is ridiculous, absurd and a waste of time, but let's all remember, it's only a very thin line dividing the strict issues of culture and race.

Imagine traveling to the east coast to find the very same scenery, traditions, foods, art and even accents that you find all over the nation. That would be boring, unappealing. This nation is so rich because it knows how to accept, assimilate and integrate bits and pieces of every culture into its own; stop feeding it and it'll deteriorate.

If it wasn't for immigrants, and I mean all immigrants, this country would be very different, think about it, a 4th of July without bbq and fireworks...

I love American Culture just the way it is, a mix of everything, filled with beautiful sounds, colors and full of surprises. Best part, it'll continue to renovate itself so it'll never become old, boring, out of style. What else can you ask for?

I really enjoyed reading your post, Houston. We're not that far apart on our beliefs. Are you a law student? You sound like it from how eloquently you post your notes.

CollegeStudent and others,
I'm not far from one of the Swift meatpacking plants that was raided. I hope to speak with some people from the area and hear what the locals have to say. If anybody has any specific questions I'll be happy to get info if I can.

By Rosa Ramirez And Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News
April 20, 2007

Colorado farmers say a major immigration raid this week at a potato processing plant in the San Luis Valley will make it even harder to draw workers to the state's already labor-tight fields.
Farm groups said the raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was believed to be the first in recent memory on a Colorado agricultural operation tied to a field crop. It follows a major ICE raid at the Swift & Co. meat-processing plant in Greeley in December.

The ICE activity, combined with tougher new state immigration laws and a political climate in Colorado that's perceived by immigrant workers to be hostile, has major ramifications for state farms and livestock operations dependent on migrant labor, agriculture officials said.

"We have a chronic labor shortage here," said Jim Ehrlich, executive director of the Colorado Potato Executive Committee in Monte Vista. "Legal immigrants are even afraid to come to the state because they feel Colorado has jumped out in front of the rest of the nation and targeted them . . . Spanish-speaking radio in other states (sends out the message) that you shouldn't come to Colorado."

The Tuesday raid netted 22 arrests at the Worley & McCullough potato plant in Monte Vista. Nineteen workers were arrested on immigration charges. Three others, including the general manager and a company foreman, were arrested on charges of obtaining and possessing false identifications and aggravated identify theft.

The raid followed an 11-month investigation into hiring practices at the facility and involved an ICE special agent posing as an illegal immigrant and obtaining false identification.

The arrests "are part of ICE's aggressive, ongoing pursuit of employers who egregiously violate the law," said Jeff Copp, special agent in charge for ICE in Denver. "All employees in all industries and locations must comply with the nation's laws."

Copp said that the raid was the first on an agricultural facility in Colorado in his six years on the job. But he seemed to discourage the idea that ICE was on the verge of targeting agricultural operations statewide.

He described the agency's priorities as areas connected to "national security interests," citing military bases, utilities, "critical infrastructure," or elements connected to them. He did not cite agricultural operations, and said they were not looking at other potato plants.

"The information that we received on what they were doing out there was so egregious that we needed to address it," Copp said. "Just because they're not on top of our priority list doesn't mean we're not going to look into them."

Farm groups reacted warily to the Monte Vista raid. While careful to say they support the notion of hiring legal workers, they worried about the impact.

They said state legislation passed during a special session last year that tightened the rules for businesses to ensure that they hire only people eligible to work in this country has created confusion for farmers and made it tougher to find labor.

"Agricultural labor is an (increasingly) complicated issue for the producers within Colorado, and this is just another sign of probably the times to come," said Troy Bredenkamp, executive director of the Colorado Farm Bureau.

"Whether guest workers or temporary workers are legal or not, the impression this sends throughout the community is that Colorado is not a guest- worker-friendly environment, and so it definitely makes it more difficult for us to find the appropriate legal labor that we need," he said.

U.S. Rep. John Salazar, a Democrat representing southern Colorado, issued a statement that said the action shows the need for immigration reform at the federal level to clarify rules for businesses and workers alike.

"The ICE raid that happened in Monte Vista this week loudly echoes the message being sent by the American people that Congress must get to work now on this difficult issue that only we can solve," Salazar said.

Meanwhile, Flora Archuleta, executive director of the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center, said the raids abruptly break families apart.

"We have people who don't know what's going to happen to them," she said, describing a father and his three children who came to her office. His wife had been arrested during the raid.

"The children were asking me: 'What's going to happen to my mom? Are we going to have to go to Guatemala? Where is Guatemala?' "

Immigration officials stressed Thursday the consequences of the alleged illegal activity by company officials and workers.

Copp said one suspected illegal immigrant arrested at the potato farm was using an authentic Social Security number that belongs to a full-time student in El Paso, Texas. The victim, Copp said, was mistakenly arrested in 2002 on a warrant in Brownsville, Texas, for failure to appear in court on a DUI charge.

'Egregious' activities alleged

Three employees arrested on ID charges

Facing criminal charges of obtaining and possessing false identification cards, and aggravated identity theft:

• Michael Abeyta, 40, company general manager.

• Javier Fuentes- Sotelo, 32, a company employee.

• Luis Trujillo, 42, a company foreman.

Recent workplace immigration raids

• Feb. 22, 2007: A dozen suspected illegal immigrant workers at three metro-area chain restaurants are arrested as part of an ongoing investigation of a nationwide janitorial service.

• Dec. 12, 2006: About 260 immigrant workers are arrested at the Swift & Co. Greeley plant. It is one of a number of raids conducted the same day at Swift facilities in six states.

• Sept. 20, 2006: At least 120 workers are arrested at a military housing project adjacent to Buckley Air Force Base.

• April 19, 2006: Immigration agents raid 40 sites owned by IFCO Systems, the nation's largest pallet recycler, including its operation in Commerce City. Thirty-eight workers are arrested there.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

Hmm, chronic labor shortage...

quote:

Farm groups reacted warily to the Monte Vista raid. While careful to say they support the notion of hiring legal workers, they worried about the impact.

Typical business attitude on wearing 2 different masks when it comes to illegal workers.

quote:

Originally posted by explora:
Lawyers Say U.S. Acted in Bad Faith After Immigrant Raid in Masachusetts
By Pam Belluck
BOSTON, March 21, 2007
Lawyers for some of about 350 immigrants arrested this month in a raid on a leather factory in New Bedford, Mass, appeared before a federal judge Wednesday, charging that the government had acted in bad faith, moving the immigrants to detentin centers in Texas too quiclyand denying them adequate access to lawyers.

MASSACHUSETTS
Judge Temporarily Bars Deportations
Boston - A Massachusetts judge on Friday temporarily barred federal officials from deporting a large grouop of illegal immigrants snared in a factory raid last month.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns granted the emergency request from lawyers for the detained immigrants, who argued that about 110 of 360 workers arrested may have agreed to waive an appeal of their deportation order under duress or with improper translators.

April 22, 2007
American Legion Auxiliary Holding a Mexican Pile-On Dinner
from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the American Legion Building across from the Dome. Adults are $5.50 in advance and $6 at the door. Children under 10 are $3. For tickets, call Helen Martinez at 878.3987 or Dot Chowins at 273.3853.

quote:

Originally posted by ProudUSC:
I really enjoyed reading your post, Houston. We're not that far apart on our beliefs. Are you a law student? You sound like it from how eloquently you post your notes.

Is he?

quote:

Originally posted by SICKOFILLEGALS:
Perhaps your i.q.'s are lower than that of the rest of the world? What is it, I'd like to know.

Higher than yours which is under the threshold for mental redardation.