DES MOINES, Iowa, June 2, 2008
No Employers Charged In Immigration Bust
Almost 400 Illegal Immigrant Workers Arrested, But Still No Managers Facing Charges
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In this Dec. 1, 2004 file photo, a truck leaves the AgriProcessors, Inc., slaughterhouse and packing plant in Postville, Iowa. After the biggest immigration raid in U.S. history on May 14, 2008, hundreds of workers have been sentenced but not one company official as yet faces any charges. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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Workers embrace after they are allowed back to work at the large Shipley Do-Nuts facility on Houston's north side Wednesday, April 16, 2008, in Houston, after federal agents arrested almost 20 workers suspected of being illegal immigrants. Agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant about 5 a.m. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle)
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Worker advocates and lawmakers say the fact that nearly 400 workers were arrested in the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville - or more than one-third of the total number of employees - proves that company officials must have known they were hiring illegal immigrants.
"Until we enforce our immigration laws equally against both employers and employees who break the law, we will continue to have a problem with immigration," said U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa Democrat whose district borders Postville.
Such raids are designed to get headlines and make it appear that the federal government is cracking down on illegal immigration, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the immigration reform group America's Voice. But he says even those who think enforcement is the answer can't seriously believe the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. can be arrested and deported.
"Even if you wanted to pursue an imbalanced enforcement-first strategy, the only thoughtful way to do it would be to go after employers, make examples of them and try to scare other employers into compliance," he said. "They're not doing that."
The owner of the Postville plant, Aaron Rubashkin, has said that the company is conducting its own investigation "into the circumstances which led to the recent work site enforcement action, and is fully cooperating with the government." He said the company could not respond to specific allegations due to pending legal issues.
Court documents filed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent before the raid at the Postville plant indicate that authorities believed company supervisors were violating a number of federal laws including harboring illegal immigrants. An application and affidavit for search warrant alleged that:
Immigration officials said the 389 arrests at the plant meant it was the largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history. Of those arrested, 297 pleaded guilty and were sentenced. The guilty pleas included use of false identification documents to obtain employment, false use of a Social Security number or cards and unlawful re-entry into the United States.
About 60 of the workers taken into custody were released for humanitarian reasons and do not face criminal charges, while 20 others were detained on immigration violations only and face deportation proceedings, said Bob Teig, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in the Iowa's northern district. Five other defendants did not enter pleas and have cases pending in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The large number of people arrested, coupled with the allegations against Agriprocessors, has led some to conclude that the company is at least as culpable as the workers.
"I'll be interested to see if federal authorities will be bringing any charges against the employer," Braley said in a telephone interview.
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Braley has questioned the cost of the Postville raid as well as an operation at Swift & Co. plants in Marshalltown and five other Midwest cities in 2006. Although federal agents arrested about 1,300 workers in raids at the Swift plants, Braley noted that no top company officials were charged.Is it not reasonable to assume that if over a third of the work force employed at this plant violated labor law in one form or another that management has to have some complicity in those violations?
Rep. Timothy Bishop, D- NYICE officials told Braley they didn't have a cost estimate for the Swift raids.
Although it primarily has been Democrats who have questioned why few company officials are charged in immigration raids, the Republican congressman who represents Postville also expressed disappointment about how that operation was handled.
James Carstensen, a spokesman for Rep. Tom Latham, said he views the raid as a blow to families seeking a better life and for the community, which is suffering economically.
"It's a tragedy of an immigration system that is absolutely broken and the tragedy of an enforcement system that is probably not working as effectively as promised by the Bush administration," Carstensen said.
Rep. Timothy Bishop raised concerns about the federal action during a May 20 hearing of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
"Is it not reasonable to assume that if over a third of the work force employed at this plant violated labor law in one form or another that management has to have some complicity in those violations?" he asked James Spero, a deputy assistant director for ICE.
Spero answered that he couldn't comment on a potential ongoing investigation but said immigration enforcement at workplaces does include investigations into violations by management and owners.
"The goal for our work site operations is to target and develop cases against the egregious employers who are committing violations," he said.
Spero said investigations of the employers often take more time, and he noted that agents in Postville had search warrants and seized numerous documents from the company.
Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement that it targets employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants but "must build work site investigations in stages."
"Developing sufficient evidence against employers requires complex, white-collar crime investigations that can take years to bear fruit," she said.
The agency said it filed criminal charges against more than 90 individuals in company supervisory positions last year. That is out of a total of 863 people who were charged with crimes during the year and 4,000 administrative arrests.
Agriprocessors, established in 1987 when Brooklyn, New York, butcher Aaron Rubashkin bought a shuttered meatpacking plant, is now the nation's largest kosher meatpacking facility. The owner's son, Sholom Rubashkin, has been running the Postville operation.
However, the company said in its statement that it was seeking a new chief executive for the Postville operation.
"The best course of action for the company, its employees, the local community and our customers is to bring new leadership to Agriprocessors," Rubashkin said in the statement.
The plant was closed on the day of the raid but resumed operation the next day at a reduced level.
Company officials said they were hiring replacement employees and were working with immigration officials to "help us bolster our compliance efforts to employ only properly documented employees."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 60 CommentsRe: "Almost 400 Illegal Immigrant Workers Arrested, But Still No Managers Facing Charges"
Ha, ha!
Of course not!
In your face again, America!!!
They are all financial contributors to the Republican Party and Bushit and Cheney!
Also - we all know that in this administration - anyone caught doing something illegal will be promoted or like these guys - will probably be given tax breaks on their Billions in the banks.
America - NOT FOR THE POOR ANYMORE!
why did they not mention the meth lab found during the origional story?
http://jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/108541.html
once again sweeping the real story under the rug!
Ron Paul will set your polluted mind become clear he is crazy because he loves the constitution?then i am also crazy! Infowars.com speaks the truth!
And all this blame the victims--the immigrants who accept the invitation to cvoe here--is stupid.
The richest community in the US is west palm beach which is where the cocaine trade is run by you know who.
Ha, ha!
Of course not!
In your face again, America!!!
Posted by FeelFree4U
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I don''t get it? Didn''t the Americans get away with it?
dot 1, fraud by workers.
dot 2, company abetting fraud after being notified.
dot 3, at least 200 counts of racketeering.
dot 4, violation of OSHA, and EPA laws.
dot 5, child slavery.
dot 6, inhumanity that defies description.
Of all the dots, only dot 1 rests with the workers.
It is jail time, and lots of it, for the management of this business.
I agree Joe! Deport who we can, prosecute who we can, and the rest will take care of its self.
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Posted by joe1022joe at 07:31 AM : Jun 02, 2008
+ report abuse
OH BULL!! YOU losers are complete IDIOTs looking for someone to hate!! Want to end this problem? Simple and it will cost the tax payers ZERO.. NOTHING!! Make if a CRIME, a CRIME with JAIL TIME attached for ANY employer to hire someone who is Illegal. When there is NO WORK there will be no Illegal''s... it''s just that simple. The PROBLEM?? Well those who hire them are the biggest donors to the Republican Party. That''s why THAT Party did absolutely NOTHING.. Na Da even thought they controlled the ENTIRE Government for 6 years. Sieg Heil Bush
This whole "good for business" mantra is like a return to the Dark Ages, when the feudal lords ruled over serfs with no rights. Disgusting.
Providing employment to illegal immigrants is Federal Offense and a FELONY. Our laws apply to all people FOREIGN and DOMESTIC.
Where does it say in our US Consitution that Americans, specifically rich business owners, are above the law?
NO AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
NO AMNESTY FOR THE AMERICANS AND AMERICAN COMPANIES THAT HIRE THEM.
Till we prosecute both AMERICANS and Illegal Immigrants, it is nothing but PURE RACISM!!!!
We are living in a fascist state, and cheap labor furthers the interest of fascism, pure and simple. Prosecuting big business for breaking laws that weaken the bonds so carefully crafted between corporations and government is patently counterproductive.
If you have any aspirations of someday being a part of corporate management in this world, you''d better start learning Spanish. When enough of the illegals are here to take over, they will no longer be the cheap labor pool, they will run the show.
The public needs to demand Congress slam these lawbreakers with something more than these photo ops "hearings".
The Demos are in charge of Congress - why hasn''t this happened?!
Furthermore, Buffett argues the recession "will be deep and last longer than many think."
Sounds pretty ominous. After all, Buffett is now the world''s richest man %u2013 he recently surpassed Microsoft chairman Bill Gates %u2013 and is easily one of the planet''s most successful investors.
If Buffett himself thinks the economic outlook is lousy, the average punter thinks, maybe I should get out of the market.
If you have money in the stock market that you will need in the next few months ahead, you should. (Not because the market is about to go down %u2013 although it may %u2013 but because money earmarked for short-term expenditures shouldn''t be in the market in the first place.)
Posted by andor3 at 04:36 AM : Jun 02, 2008
Speak for your self I don''''t feel that way as I want them out.
Your post was pointless and stupid.
Posted by rharrin1
Maybe you don''t but out here in CA, too lazy to cut your own grass, hire a Mexican. Need some roofing done cheap, hire someone using illegals. Need someone to perform a few hours of back breaking labor, drive by the home depot where all the men are standing around. I''m not saying its right but as long as Americans are too lazy and too cheap they can expect a problem with illegal immigrants.
Our immigration laws apply to ALL US citizens and not just foreigners.
Companies like Agriprocessors, Inc., hurt legitimate American companies that follow the rules and hire US citizens and legal immigrants who obey the law.
Our country has lost enough jobs and entire industries to third world countries. We don''t need third world countries coming on our own soil and taking our own jobs in our own backyard.
Stop deporting illegals and start prosecuting these criminal companies. Once you shutdown these criminal companies and send the owners and CEOs to prison, the illegals will self deport themselves.
As a 5th generation American citizen, I find Mr. Latham''s views to be supportive of the wrong side of this issue. While the invaders are coming here from a poorly run country to improve (make money) their plight in life, they do so through ILLEGAL means. After all, drug dealers are trying to improve their lives, too. Our elected government officials, from mayors all the way to the oval office, support this invasion for the benefit of their corporate supporters by inaction and failure to enforce the LAWS now on the books.
Mr. Latham should go live in a poor neighborhood without the benefit of his assests or health care. He would learn firsthand why resentment to the illegals is growing. It is not against them personally for most of them are hard workers and family oriented. It is against those folks, like Mr. Latham, who should have done their sworn duty and upheld our laws, and we would not be in the situation that we are in.
Action should be taken against ALL employers before they are taken against the workers. It would be far less expensive to the taxpayers, and less harsh on "those families and communities" that Mr. Latham has so much empathy for their efforts to improve their lives.
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Posted by panhandlpete at 09:08 AM : Jun 02, 2008
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Excellent post.....
Yeah, I''ll tell you the motivation and source, Mr Aaron Rubaskin (owner).....GREED!!!
It''s those like you that have destroyed this country by outsourcing jobs and production, and now insourcing the illegals, all for greed and the want of another scheckel. You need deported sir and I''ll contribute to the cause.
You are absolutely correct. Go after the reason why they swim across the Rio Grande in the first place. No jobs without documentation- no illegal immigrants..it''s that simple.
Why isn''t it happening? Big businesses (Republicans) want cheap labor and higher profits. Bleeding heart humanitarians (Democrats) think we should subsidize the world, even when our own livelihoods are at stake.
This problem can be controlled completely by holding all employers accountable under the threat of criminal prosecution (jail time, not fines) for verifying workers'' legal status. Laws on the books allowing companies to hire miscellanous workers in addition to permanent employees must be changed to demand the same documentation procedures for both.
http://www.agriprocessor.com/agriprocessors_jewish_values/kosher_tradition_law.php#
excerpted:
"We are devoted to our customers and are committed to following and upholding the federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing our business."
(They should add: as long as it doesn''t intefere with our profits)
No kidding! It would seem that way, considering also from the article, "Based on 2007 fourth-quarter payroll reports, about 78 percent of Agriprocessors'' 968 workers were using false or fraudulent Social Security numbers in connection with their employment."
AND, "Agriprocessors was notified by the Social Security Administration in five separate letters of 500 Social Security number discrepancies for each tax year from 2000 to 2005."
Agriprocessors knew or should have known ther were hiring and employing illegals.
I, personally, like the new ideas taken up in Arizona. If an employer is found guilty of hiring illegals he/she is fined $10,000 for the first offense, or something like that. For a second offense, his/her licensc to operate the business is revoked for six months and there is a significant fine for it.
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Unless the laws have changed in the past 20 years, they DO hold the employer accountable. That infamous I-9 you fill out when being hired, along with the one of several acceptable forms of ID are supposed to be what fuels this.
I worked for a company in California that ran afoul of the INS. An employee was found murdered and he had one of our check stubs in his pocket. INS came down on us like a ton of bricks. I called Corporate Legal to find out what I needed to do. I was told to do anything they asked me to do.
The safety hatch is that you don''t have to be nor do you have to hire a documents expert. The identification presented has to "appear" authentic.
I don''t know where that law got lost but employers were plenty afraid of the INS.
"I, personally, like the new ideas taken up in Arizona. If an employer is found guilty of hiring illegals he/she is fined $10,000 for the first offense, or something like that. For a second offense, his/her licensc to operate the business is revoked for six months and there is a significant fine for it. "
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So true. It was implemented in Oklahoma and it is working well in both states. Illegals have left those states to either go back to Mexico or whatever country or left to go to other states with less strict laws.
The bottom line is that it doesn''t cost a penny to deport them. They self deport on their own!!!
I couldn''t agree more. They should sentence the employers to one year in federal prison and fine them $500,000 for each illegal immigrant they have in their employ.
The illegal immigration problem would be over immediately, and all those here would be forced to go home voluntarily.
One can assume that the law enforcement and judicial system in America is corrupt and has failed.
There such be an investigation, but the investigatores will probably be corrupt too. We have become Mexico.
Regards,
Posted by Nancy_Naive
It''s probably that guy from lifelock that drives around a truck with his real SS number on the side.
How much did they charge out per man hour for work and how much did they pay the illegals?
That will tell you how much money the employers made off of these almost 400 illegals.
Copy & Paste and distribute freely.
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