Originally posted by iperson: Well then I am not going to participate in this forum anylonger. It brings the worst out of me to see all the bigots, nativists and racists here spewing their twisted ideologies. This is not the world I belong in. Take care y'all, it wasn't a pleasure to talk to you.
I'll talk to you later Explora.
Buh bye . . . .
By Mark Stevenson ASSOCIATED PRESS
2:36 p.m. December 11, 2007
MEXICO CITY – A murder suspect dubbed “The Cannibal†was found dead in his prison cell of an apparent suicide Tuesday, two months after police found cooked and seasoned bits of his girlfriend's corpse on a fork and plate in his apartment. Jose Luis Calva, a self-proclaimed poet and dramatist suspected in at least three murders, was found hanging from his belt in his Mexico City jail cell Tuesday morning, the city department of corrections said in a statement.
AdvertisementThe man routinely referred to as “The Cannibal†by Mexican news media had been working on a book about himself in prison, tentatively titled “The Cannibal Poet.†Those close to him said he did not appear suicidal. “He didn't seem to have suicidal tendencies,†said lawyer Moises Humberto Guerrero Calderón, a member of his defense team. “He was very enthused about (the book) idea. That was sort of what gave him a reason to live.â€
Relatives told local news media that Calva had reported receiving threats from other inmates, who were allegedly attempting to extort money from him. Calva had a cell to himself, but still apparently had some contact with other inmates.
However, the corrections department denied Calva had been threatened or beaten by other inmates. It said he could not have been murdered because he had reenforced his locked cell door with wire and shoelaces tied from the inside.
Mexico City officials said they were investigating how he got the belt and apparently was able to commit suicide when he was supposed to be under round-the-clock observation.
“Everything indicates it was suicide, but it is better to conduct a good investigation,†Juan Garcia Ochoa, the city's assistant interior secretary whose agency oversees prisons, told radio station Formato 21.
Calva told prosecutors after his arrest on Oct. 8 that he was practically abandoned by his mother, his father died when he was 2, and that at about age 7 he was raped by a male friend of his brother.
In interviews before his death, Calva had expressed remorse for the death of girlfriend Alejandra Galeana, 32.
He acknowledged killing her and cutting up her body after a violent drug-and-alcohol-fueled argument, but denied he ate her flesh. He claimed he cooked the flesh to feed it to dogs as a means of getting rid of the corpse. But authorities said they doubt that story, noting he carefully cleaned, cooked and seasoned the flesh.
There was no immediate explanation for why Calva included “cannibal†in the title of his apparently autobiographical book, but those who knew him described Calva as a charismatic, pathological liar who sometimes posed as a playwright, television personality, reporter, novelist and actor. He had mentioned cannibalism in his writing before the crime.
Soledad Garavito, the mother of Galeana, described his death as divine retribution.
“I don't wish death on anybody, but I feel this was divine justice,†Garavito told The Associated Press. “I do not take pleasure in this man's death, but I have seen there is a God and that He is with me.â€
Calva was charged with Galeana's murder and abusing a corpse. Prosecutors said they also had evidence linking him to the death of another girlfriend whose dismembered body was found in cardboard boxes in 2004, as well as a female acquaintance whose chopped-up remains were found in a suitcase earlier this year. All the victims had been strangled.
Saturday, June 16, 2007 Illegal Alien Crime: No One Wants to Talk About It
It's a good bet that your neighborhood has been affected by a crime or crimes perpetrated by illegal aliens.
Sometimes we just do not think about the consequences of those around us. If you see the Senate's effort to pass the Immigration Reform bill as a good thing, or if you see it as the only way out of this mess, please think again - think now, and maybe, just maybe, your mind may change.
Many, many Americans are posting invaluable information on the web about this bill. If you are "for" the bill based on compassion, and the helpless feeling that we must do something, freshen your knowledge of the issue with pertinent information "against" the bill - think about your family, your job, your health care, your safety...and what it may be like in just a short five years if this legislation is passed.
It is such an important issue. If the bill passes, it truly does change the lives of all of us, the lives of our children, and the lives of our grandchildren. Life in the U.S. will be different, and if you believe this scenario is just a bit too dramatic,...again, please read those opposed, those who have researched and spent the better part of every day for a very long time examining what the Senate is actually up to.
Consider those who have come here legally and followed the rules, consider the value of securing the borders immediately (it can be done) and ridding the country of illegal criminals from all countries. Links to good sources and thoughtful thinking are at the end of this article.
Here's a serious look at crimes committed by illegals:
November 28th, 2006, not quite 7 months ago, WorldNetDaily reported that Illegal Aliens Murder 12 Americans Daily. The sub-heading was "Death Toll in 2006 Far Overshadows Total U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq, Afghanistan."
Twelve Americans are murdered every day by illegal aliens, according to statistics released by U.S. Congressman Steve King (R-IA). If those numbers are correct, it translates to 4,380 Americans murdered annually by illegal aliens. That's 21,900 since Sept. 11, 2001.
Total U.S. troop deaths in Iraq as of last week were reported at 2,863. Total U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan during the five years of the Afghan campaign are currently at 289, according to the Department of Defense. But the carnage wrought by illegal alien murderers represents only a fraction of the pool of blood spilled by American citizens as a result of an open border and un-enforced immigration laws.
While King reports 12 Americans are murdered daily by illegal aliens, he says 13 are killed by drunk illegal alien drivers – for another annual death toll of 4,745. That's 23,725 since Sept. 11, 2001.
While no one – in or out of government – tracks all U.S. accidents caused by illegal aliens, the statistical and anecdotal evidence suggests many of last year's 42,636 road deaths involved illegal aliens. King also reports eight American children are victims of sexual abuse by illegal aliens every day – a total of 2,920 annually. According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released April 2005, a study of 55,322 illegal aliens housed in federal, state and local detention centers, jails and prisons found the following: * The 55,322 illegal aliens studied represented a total of 459,614 arrests – some eight arrests per illegal alien;
* Their arrests represented a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses – some 13 offenses per illegal
Acambaro restaurants in Bentonville, Lowell, Rogers and Springdale.
Immigration Officers Raid Six Arkansas Restaurants
Federal immigration officials say they've raided six restaurants in northwest Arkansas and arrested 19 suspected illegal immigrants.
According to U.S. Attorney Robert C. Balfe, the Immigration Criminal Apprehension Taskforce executed search warrants Monday at Acambaro restaurants in Bentonville, Lowell, Rogers and Springdale.
Balfe's office says the restaurants belonged to Acambaro Mexican Restaurant Inc. and Garcia's Distributor Inc. Immigration officials also arrested four operators of the restaurants: 35-year-old Arturo Reyes Jr., 36-year-old Silvia Reyes, 33-year-old Lucila Huaracha and 33-year-old Armando Reyes. Balfe says all four are believed to be illegal immigrants from Mexico.
Published 12/12/2007 By GWEN TIETGEN gtietgen@gctelegram.com
Talk and confusion grew Tuesday as Garden City commissioners rehashed their decision to impose mandatory jail terms for repeat uninsured and unlicensed drivers.
And when it comes down to it, those who are actually affected by the decision are few and far between, as Garden City Manager Bob Halloran pointed out.
According to Garden City Municipal Court records, in 2006, there were eight convictions for a second no proof of insurance offense and two for a third no proof of insurance offense. There were no convictions for subsequent offenses.
For no valid driver's license, in 2006, there were 19 convictions, to include pleas of guilty or no contest, for a second no valid driver's license offense.
There was one conviction for a third offense, two for a fourth offense and one for a fifth offense. There were no convictions for additional subsequent offenses.
Commissioners amended the ordinances in September at the request of the Garden City Police Department to include mandatory consecutive jail terms for repeat offenses. Police Chief James Hawkins said the mandatory jail terms help encourage compliance.
Garden City commissioners approved the amendment with little discussion.
Then, several weeks later, a grass-roots Hispanic advocacy-type group, Sunflower Community Action, questioned the harsher ordinance. Armando Minjarez, speaking on behalf of the group's southwest Kansas chapter, said while perhaps not intentional, the change directly impacts the immigrant community.
Garden City commissioners said the change in the ordinance wasn't made to target the immigrant community.
Commissioner Nancy Harness said she thinks the commission should have taken more time to see how the amended ordinance would affect all segments of the community. Tuesday, she said she questions the need for the city to impose harsher penalties than those already required by state statute.
Sister Janice Thome, with Dominican Sisters Ministry of Presence, said because the state now requires a Social Security number to obtain a driver's license, there are several legal immigrants who cannot get a license because of the backlog and wait to get a Social Security number.
While she admits local governments cannot directly fix what she sees as the real problem, which is obtaining a Social Security number for a driver's license, Thome said ordinances like these add to the problem.
Drivers also must have a driver's license in order to obtain insurance.
City Attorney Randy Grisell, City Prosecutor Kara Schartz and Municipal Court Judge Peter Ramirez all said that in practice, they often look at the facts of the case and work with defendants, entering into plea bargains to possibly dismiss or reduce charges when appropriate. For instance, if a defendant is cited for no proof of insurance but has since purchased insurance, the charge often will be dismissed, Grisell said.
Harness requested drafting amended ordinances to bring Garden City's penalties for all three offenses in line with the state's. The issue is set to come before the Commission again at a January meeting.
She also requested taking out the word "consecutive" when imposing the imprisonment terms. She argued that being made to serve the jail term consecutively could create an extreme hardship for the offender. She prefers allowing the judge, on a case-by-case basis, to decide how an offender would serve his or her jail time.
It was unclear if Harness' proposal had support from other commissioners, though Commissioner David Crase said he didn't think he could support all the changes. He said he would support reverting back to state penalties on no valid driver's license, believing those penalties are adequate.
But when talking about no insurance and driving while suspended, habitual offenders should be punished, he said.
"When are they going to learn their lesson?" he said.
While Garden City commissioners say the mandatory jail terms weren't done to target immigrants, the increased penalties have piqued the interest of elected officials in Dodge City and Liberal.
Dodge City Manager Ken Strobel said commissioners there are researching Dodge City's situation with regard to the offenses. They talked with Garden City commissioners about the ordinance at a November meeting between the cities of Garden City, Dodge City and Liberal.
Since, Dodge City has gotten a copy of Garden City's ordinance and has started gathering information from police and the city court, he said. He said he has yet to talk with the Dodge City police chief about the issue.
"We're looking at how much of an issue it is, and if it is an issue and various alternatives to address that issue," Strobel said, adding it wouldn't likely come up at a city meeting until after the first of the year.
"Once we get the information gathered we'll probably advise the council on what, if anything, we could do and what are the alternatives," he said.
As a whole, Garden City Assistant City Manager Matt Allen reiterated that the city of Garden City has traditionally been a strong advocate for immigration reform, urging changes to the current system whenever talking to state and federal lawmakers, he said.
Keep in mind now that the Holidays are coming up and crime will ONCE AGAIN be at its max-since it seems to have slowed down.
The Latest Scam:
The way the scam works is, a man slips into the women's rest-room and sneaks into a stall. He waits until there is only one woman in the restroom in a neighboring stall. The criminal then stands on the toilet and points a hand gun into the next stall, demanding the woman's valuables. After getting her cash and jewelry, he demands that she remove all of her clothing and kick them out of the stall. The thief tosses the clothing into a shopping bag, hangs an out of order sign on the restroom door, and slips back into the mall. The out of order sign ensures no one will soon come to the woman's rescue. It usually takes an hour or two for the woman to work up the nerve to leave the restroom in the nude, giving the criminal ample time to make his get away. The woman is left naked and humiliated in a mall full of strangers. The best defense, says police, is to never go into a shopping mall restroom alone, as only women who are by themselves are targeted. PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!! This has so far been a nearly perfect crime, as none of the perpetrators have been caught. Don't let this happen to you. Please tell your wife and friends.
(CHICAGO) The National Assembly of Latino Leaders (NALL) protested today against Illinois congressmen by Melissa Bean and Dan Lipinski for his position on the issue of migration.
"He was not going to give the vote to people who have lied," said Emma Lozano, spokesman for the activist group and the Center Without Borders.
According to Lozano, Democrats promised to support the pro-migrant agendas. However, she says, the congressmen have refused to push immigration reform until after the elections of 2008.
Bean represents northwestern suburbs, as Schaumburg, Mundelein, Zion and Antioch. Lipisnki represents part of south Chicago and southwestern suburbs as Oak Lawn and LaGrange.
"Both are Democrats but they said they can do nothing (in terms of the migration issue) until after the presidential election. Meanwhile, our families are still deported, "said Lozano.
However, the biggest insult is the support that staff have given the bill HB4088, which apply only security measures at the border, but not a path to legalization for undocumented or protections to illegal workers.
Bean is a co-sponsor of the proposal, also known as the SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification and Enforcement) or Securing the U.S. Through verification and enforcement of laws.
The congressman offered this statement from Washington DC Around the rally today: "In America (USA), all groups have the right to protest and express their views and I support that right."
The policy refrained from making any comments on immigration or the bill.
Calls made to the office Lipinski were not immediately addressed.
Meanwhile, La Raza asked Lozano if Hispanics, then they should vote for his Republican opponents. Lozano was emphatic in his reply: "As neither of the two [parties]," but she says, the Democrats need the Latino vote to remain in power.
The "fear" of losing these people will change their positions, said Lozano.
Chained Woman Rescued After Writing 'Call 911' on Window Wednesday, 12 Dec 2007
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- By DAN BISCHOFF Associated Press Writer
A woman who was chained to an engine block inside her apartment for more than a week scratched "Call 911" through the condensation of a window, catching the attention of a neighbor who helped free her.
"She wrote it in reverse," said West Valley police Capt. Tom McLachlan.
Police arrested the woman's boyfriend, Fernando Orozco-Trevizo, who they say chained her ankle to a V6 engine and locked her door with a dead bolt while he was away. The windows also were screwed shut.
"Obviously they had some kind of relationship going where it went south," McLachlan said Wednesday.
McLachlan said the woman, in her early 30s, was unchained while Orozco-Trevizo was around.
The chain was long enough for her to use a bathroom and get food and water.
Last Friday, she had enough of her confinement and made a stand.
When Orozco-Trevizo unshackled her, "she went into the back bedroom and barricaded her doors with furniture and wrote 'Call 911' on the rear window," McLachlan said.
That window could be seen from a trailer park, where Peter Erkelens took notice.
"He walked by and saw the writing," McLachlan said. "Rather than blowing it off, he took the time to research it and he called 911. He's the hero in this whole deal. He ended it. Were it not for him, she'd still be in this situation."
The woman was found with bruises, he said.
McLachlan said the suspect eventually broke into the bedroom, but turned around when he saw her message and left the apartment.
Police caught up with Orozco-Trevizo at a construction site and arrested him for kidnapping, aggravated assault, domestic violence and criminal mischief.
Don't go away Iperson. I wanted to try out some more Polish jokes. You never did say if any were funny or not. You have nice looking chickens. Does that make you feel any better.
I know you think your from another world but your therapist did prescribe some medicine for that. You have been taking it have you? Poland is not another world. Just keep repeating that.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: davdah,
You voted democrat. This country is not worth sneaking into any more.
Posts: 5846 | Location: San Antonio TX | Registered: 06-08-2007
Fresh Direct, the online grocery delivery operation that caters to affluent and overworked New Yorkers, lost dozens of employees this week after federal immigration officials notified the company that its employee records were under investigation.
The company sent its workers a memo on Sunday and Monday saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to inspect the records of every employee and asked them to update their information and provide documents, like Social Security cards, to prove employment eligibility. At least 40 warehouse workers who could not produce proof that they were authorized to work in the United States quit or were suspended.
At the company’s warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, the work force, largely immigrants, reacted with panic and distress as news of the inquiry spread.
“Some people just walked out the door,†said Sandy Pope, president of a Teamsters local that is one of two unions competing to organize the workers. “They were sobbing, with garbage bags full of their clothes from their lockers. They didn’t feel they had any chance of fixing their paperwork, so they just left.â€
Fresh Direct officials said in a statement that they were trying to comply with the government’s request and keep their employees informed about the investigation. But they would not discuss any suspensions or resignations.
The federal investigation, part of a national campaign aimed at employers who hire illegal immigrants, comes in the midst the company’s busiest season and in the middle of a conflict over efforts to unionize some 900 Fresh Direct warehouse workers. The workers are scheduled to vote on Dec. 22 and 23 on whether to affiliate with either Local 805 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters or Local 348 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which recently organized Fresh Direct drivers.
Ms. Pope, the Teamsters’ president, said on Wednesday that the suspensions seemed to be an effort to thwart the union and that the company’s lawyers might have invited Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to scrutinize workers to weaken the union drive.
Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the federal agency, said, “I would categorically deny that that’s the case.â€
Jim Moore, the company’s senior vice president for business affairs, called the claim outrageous.
“At this point, Fresh Direct is intent on two things,†he said in a written statement. “Complying with the requirements of federal law with respect to the I.C.E. audit and ensuring that its employees know the facts and are given the opportunity to participate†in the union vote. He said the company had asked immigration officials to delay their audit until after the holidays, but they refused.
Without confirming or denying the investigation, Ms. Nantel said such audits were part of the agency’s stepped-up enforcement.
With new financing, she said, the agency recently hired 41 “forensic auditors†to scrutinize employment eligibility verification forms, known as I-9’s, that companies are required to keep on file for every employee they hire.
“Certainly an I-9 audit is one investigatory tool that we use,†Ms. Nantel said. “Depending on the results of the audit, we’ll follow that investigation to whatever next step is appropriate.â€
Companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants can face fines or criminal charges, but until recently, prosecutions were extremely rare. In some workplaces elsewhere in the country, workers without proper documents were summoned to the main office without warning, and taken away in handcuffs.
Union officials said that many Fresh Direct employees, who earn between $7.50 and $9.75 an hour, were so frightened of being detained and separated from their children that they stayed home on Wednesday. Others said they were told not to come back.
Ms. Pope said that some employees were warned by company officials not to show up for their paychecks. She said the union was scrambling to find clergy members or other volunteers to collect paychecks for workers who feared going back to the warehouse.
One 41-year-old woman from Ecuador, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of deportation, said she was let go with an expression of regret when she told human resources workers at the company that the Social Security number she had been using for nearly four years was false.
“I’m really desperate now because I have no money to send to my kids,†she said, referring to four children in Ecuador. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.â€
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested 21 Mexican nationals, 16 of them reputed street gang members in the northwest suburbs.
WBBM's Bob Roberts.
Immigration Service spokesperson Gail Montenegro said the two-day operation targeted foreign national gang members. Agents made most or the arrests in Carpentersville, which has been a focus on the immigration debate in the northwest suburbs. Additional arrests were made in Belvidere, Bensenville, Cary, Lake Zurich and West Dundee.
Montenegro said 19 of the 21 were living illegally in the United States. The other two are permanent U.S. residents whose criminal convictions render them eligible for deportation.
Montenegro said five of the 21 apparently do not belong to gangs, and have not committed any crime except being in the U.S. illegally.
One of those arrested had an active warrant for his arrest on charges of aggravated battery and aggravated battery against a school employee. Montenegro said others were accused of convicted of burglary, aggravated battery, arson, criminal trespass, obstruction of justice and drug possession. The individual charged with aggravated battery will face trial on those charges first. Montenegro said that after the charges are resolved, he will be returned to ICE custody for deportation.
Montenegro said the arrests are part of œOperation Community Shield, a two-year-old nationwide initiative in which ICE agents partner with federal, state and local law enforcement to combat gangs. Since it began, Immigration agents have arrested more than 7,500 street gang members representing more than 700 gangs.
WBBM is attempting to contact the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights for a response to the arrests.
Times staff report Article Launched: 12/11/2007 04:23:39 PM MST
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a food processing plant in Deming, N.M., on Monday and arrested 21 undocumented immigrants. The arrests resulted from a five-month investigation of Proper Foods Inc. The business employs about 300 people who prepare, package and distribute tamales for wholesale and retail sale.
All but one of those arrested were Mexican nationals, according to a news release from ICE. Ten of the aliens are adult males; 10 are adult females including a Honduran national. The youngest among the group was a 17-year-old Mexican youth. ICE agents have contacted the Mexican Consulate to reunite him with his family.
Three of those arrested and the 17-year-old have been released on their own recognizance, and were served with a notice to appear before an immigration judge at a later date. Six were detained and placed into removal proceedings. They are at the El Paso Processing Center awaiting their immigration hearing. The remaining 11 were voluntarily returned to Mexico on Monday.
Roberto G. Medina, special agent in charge of the Office of Investigations in El Paso, said such operations help combat illegal immigration and maintain the integrity of the immigration system.
"Worksite enforcement operations are part of ICE's efforts to promote national security, protect critical infrastructure, and ensure fair labor standards," he said in a news release.
The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institute which examines the impact of immigration on the United States.
Senate Amnesty Could Strain Welfare System Newest Data Shows Latin American Immigrants Make Heavy Use of Welfare
Contact: Steven Camarota sac@cis.org 202-466-8185
WASHINGTON (June 6, 2007) — As they debate legalization for illegal immigrants, Senators would do well to keep in mind the most recent data on welfare use by the people in question. According to the Department of Homeland Security, nearly 60% of illegal aliens are from Mexico and 80% of the total are from Latin America as a whole. A Center for Immigration Studies analysis of 2006 Census Bureau data, which includes legal and illegal immigrants, shows use of welfare by households headed by Mexican and Latin American immigrants is more than double that of native households. Among the findings:
51% of all Mexican immigrant households use at least one major welfare program and 28% use more than one program. – 40% use food assistance, 35% use Medicaid, 6% use cash assistance.
45% of all Latin American immigrant households use at least one welfare program and 24% use more than one program. – 32% use food assistance, 31% use Medicaid, 6% use cash assistance.
20% of native households use at least one welfare program and 11% multiple programs. – 11% use food assistance, 15% use Medicaid, 5% use cash assistance
Among Mexican and Latin American households, welfare use is somewhat higher for households headed by legal, as opposed to illegal, immigrants. Thus legalization will likely increase welfare costs still further.
90% of Mexican and Latin American households have at least one worker. Their heavy welfare use reflects their low education levels and resulting low incomes – and not an unwillingness work. – 61% of all Mexican immigrants have not graduated high school. – 48% of all Latin American immigrants have not graduated high school.
There is a common but mistaken belief that welfare programs are only for those who don’t work. Actually, the welfare system is designed to provide low-wage workers, or more often their children, things like food assistance and health care.
It is the presence of their U.S.-born children coupled with their low education levels that explains why so many immigrant households use the welfare system.
Most recently arrived immigrants are barred from using welfare programs and this would likely apply to those legalized by the Senate bill – however this is not true in every state, nor does not apply to all programs. Most important, the bar does not apply to the U.S.-born children of immigrants, who are immediately eligible.
There are an estimated 1.4 million households headed by illegal aliens using at least one major welfare program. If even half these families returned to their home countries, the savings for taxpayers could be substantial.
If we do not wish to make a large share of illegals return to their home countries, then the United States has to accept the welfare costs. There is no other option.
Programs examined in the analysis are food stamps, WIC, school lunch, Medicaid, TANF, SSI, and public/rent-subsidized housing.
Teamsters and FreshDirect Spar Over Suspensions of Immigrant Workers
December 12, 2007, 12:08 pm By Sewell Chan
FreshDirect, the online grocery delivery service that has seen rapid growth in its New York City business since it began deliveries in 2002, this week suspended several dozen workers — nearly all of them Hispanic immigrants — and fired at least one of them, saying that the workers had not provided accurate Social Security and other records to document their legal status.
Local 805 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which over the summer began an effort to organize a union among the 900 workers at the FreshDirect’s warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, asserts that the suspensions are an effort to foil a unionization election scheduled for Dec. 22 and 23.
In September, the Teamsters union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board and rallied outside FreshDirect’s headquarters, accusing the company of labor-relations violations.
In the two-day election later this month, workers are to choose between Local 805 and another union, Local 348 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which already represents about 500 drivers, helpers and delivery workers at FreshDirect. The warehouse workers can also choose not to form a union at all. The company has actively discouraged workers from joining the Teamsters.
“It’s right before Christmas,†said Sandy Pope, the president of the Teamsters local. “For a food company to do this right now is crazy for their business. It’s the busiest time of year.
We believe this is a union-busting attempt.†The union knows of about 25 workers who have been suspended and one who has been told not to come back, but The Daily News reported today that the job cuts could affect as many as 85 workers.
FreshDirect declined a request for an interview, but provided a statement from Jim Moore, the company’s senior vice president for business affairs. “FreshDirect is cooperating with the I.N.S. in its review of employment documentation,†Mr. Moore said in the statement. “Additional comment would be inappropriate until the review is completed.†(The company later clarified that Mr. Moore was referring to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau in the Department of Homeland Security. The Immigration and Naturalization Service ceased to exist in 2003 after its functions were transferred from the Justice Department.)
Although employers are required to verify that their employees are eligible to work in the United States, many companies fail to do so or look the other way — a major theme in the current debate over national immigration policy.
Ms. Pope said she believed FreshDirect was using the immigration issue as a pretext to get rid of workers who are sympathetic to the union.
Ms. Pope said that several of the suspended workers were told that the company expected to receive “no match†letters from the Social Security Administration, informing the company that the Social Security numbers provided by several workers were not legitimate.
But in October, a federal judge in California said the government had failed to follow proper procedures for issuing a new rule that would have forced employers to fire workers if their Social Security numbers could not be verified within three months. The judge blocked the new rule from taking effect, granting a victory, for now, to an unusual coalition that included the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Later this evening, Mr. Moore elaborated with the following statement: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (â€ICEâ€) recently informed FreshDirect that it had been chosen for an I-9 (employment verification form) audit and associated review of payroll records. Preparation for this administrative review is extremely time consuming, and to the degree that employee re
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