Postville was left "absolutely shattered" after last month´s heavily armed worker raids. The workers received swift, cattle barn justice. The employers, however, were left free to continue their abuses, despite hiring a GOP crony-pal "compliance" officer. The Star Tribune Reports:
Why the raid occurred - from warrant (pg 3):
The federal raid this spring came about based on information from an informant inside the plant who reported witnessing plant managers hire and help workers with fake identity papers. Up to 76 percent of workers did not have correct Social Security numbers, according to the search warrant. The informant also reported seeing managers abuse workers, including hitting one with a meat hook. One manager also ran a scam in which illegal workers were coerced into buying cars from him, the warrant said. Some female employees also have alleged they were sexually coerced by managers, according to St. Bridget's Sister Mary McCauley.
Abuses Continue (page 2, 5):
. New replacement worker Josephina Ortiz, near tears, telling strangers that she came from California based on promises by Agriprocessors of free rent, food and a good job. Instead, she claims, she found a filthy, expensive apartment and mandatory 14-hour days. "Please God, somebody help us," said Ortiz, who is in the United States legally. "There's something bad in this town. I don't know how this can happen in the United States of America."
. Agriprocessors' new hires, whites and African-Americans, who arrived on the bus. They said they'd been promised a $100 advance, but few of them got it. So their first stop was the food shelf (free food bank).
. Diane Morris, who was living in a Texas homeless shelter, said the company promised a free furnished apartment for a month. Instead, she was put in a four-bedroom house with 10 men, she said. "Everywhere I've been I've been sexually approached," she said. She claims she was fired after two days when she went to the company clinic for medications for a mental illness.
. Some new hires have already caused enough trouble at bars that city officials and police have met with the company to demand better screening.
Why protesters are angry (page 3, 4):
"Workers openly say they were advised by the plant on how to get false documents," he said. "Now if the government does not take action on that and charge the owners, then this was strictly a raid to threaten and terrorize people. The situation at Agriprocessors reveals "a lack of respect of human dignity of people other than you," Ouderkirk said. "Politicians who should have been leading the way did nothing."
After the Raids, Only Positive (page 5):
"I'd say the relationship between Hispanics and people who grew up around here has gotten stronger because of this," he said. "The people who have grown up around here suddenly realized [the workers] were real people, too." The town even put up red ribbons on lampposts in support of plant workers. While he abhors the tactics of immigration officials, Ouderkirk says some good may come of their raid. "They brought out the cracks in the dam and the folly of our immigration policy," he said.
Posts
48 comments:
Which is it, the Managers that the workers are complaining about or the Owners who the protesters are complaining about? It sounds as if the managers were the ones doing all the abuse. The owners only seem to be responsible for the after effects of not living up to the promises given to the new workers, and causing the now bad blood in the small town from new arrivals.
I note you still can't distinguish Managers from Owners.You can't distinguish employment agencies making the promises of $100 and living expense. You blame everything on the company itself, granted to some extent the owners should have known, however, learn the laws of Inc.'s, know that it is an entity in and of itself. What proof do you have that the Managers were the owners or the owners son? You work in a big corporation, you should know how all of this works, blame the persons responsible, and most importantly, show the proof of who the managers are.
As for the company devastating Postville, I'm pretty sure everybody agrees.
Liquid,
As I have said before, this guy should have been arrested. They had probable cause in the warrant to arrest him. They could have gotten him to roll on his bosses. But they did not arrest him when they could have. He now has escaped to Israel on Rubahkin´s dime!!
Iowa Independent:
A former supervisor at the Postville meatpacking plant raided by federal agents last month has fled the country, Iowa Independent has learned.
The supervisor, Hasom Amara, sometimes required workers to buy illicitly registered cars as a condition of work, three former workers have told the Iowa Independent. Their stories corroborate allegations first made by a federal immigration agent in the search warrant obtained for the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. facility in which 389 workers were detained.
Such activities may have broken the law, immigration agent David Hoagland stated in a sworn affidavit in support of the search warrant used in the raid.
“There is probable cause to believe an Agriprocessors supervisor has assisted, for a cut of the proceeds, illegal aliens in obtaining false documentation in relation to purchasing vehicle, and thereby has aided in the harboring of illegal aliens,” Hoagland said.
Amara is a SUPERVISOR (Manager) not an OWNER. Everybody agrees he should have been arrested and charged. Why he wasn't, who knows. How he escaped the country, who knows. Once enough evidence is ascertained against him, provided he is an American Citizen, I'm pretty sure that the USA will put out an International Warrant on him and try to have him extradited back into the USA to stand trial for his crimes.
No where is there proof that he went on Rabukins "dime" back to Isreal. He left, since he was making and pocketing monies from extortion. Don't ad your "assumptions", they make you look the "ass" in the umptions. There is still no proof that the owner of Agriprocessors has any involvement.
Isn't it interesting liquid, that the pro-illegals are throwing a hissy fit over this type of aiding and abetting by an employer (providing false documents, etc.) and they want them punished for it but when the aiding and abetting is done by santuary cities, the Catholic Church, etc., not one peep out of them about punished ment for that.
Could it be maybe that the owners are playing the "Hear no evil, See no evil" card?
They had probable cause to arrest Amara. It was in the warrant.
Additionally, I do not make assumptions. I do research.
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/06/breaking-ruba-1.html
Pat,
You are way off.
Agriprocessors is a heinous, exploitive employer. They abused the workers. They provided false documentation. There was plenty of probably cause. They broke the law. Its all in the warrant.
The church, on the other hand, feeds and cares for the sick and the needy, as they should. This is NOT against the law.
Liquid,
Additionally, Agriprocessors continues to wreck havoc upon Postville. You have not commented on this:
. New replacement worker Josephina Ortiz, near tears, telling strangers that she came from California based on promises by Agriprocessors of free rent, food and a good job. Instead, she claims, she found a filthy, expensive apartment and mandatory 14-hour days. "Please God, somebody help us," said Ortiz, who is in the United States legally. "There's something bad in this town. I don't know how this can happen in the United States of America."
. Agriprocessors' new hires, whites and African-Americans, who arrived on the bus. They said they'd been promised a $100 advance, but few of them got it. So their first stop was the food shelf (free food bank).
. Diane Morris, who was living in a Texas homeless shelter, said the company promised a free furnished apartment for a month. Instead, she was put in a four-bedroom house with 10 men, she said. "Everywhere I've been I've been sexually approached," she said. She claims she was fired after two days when she went to the company clinic for medications for a mental illness.
. Some new hires have already caused enough trouble at bars that city officials and police have met with the company to demand better screening
Anon1,
The owners are as guilty as the rest of management at Agriprocessors. They purposely moved to a remote location, Postville, so they could bring in illegal immigrant workers. Their plan was to exploit them. They brought in most of them from Guatemala. Out of the 300 they arrested over 90% were from Guatemala. Consider that of all the illegal immigrants in the country, less than 5% are Guatemalan, then look at Agriprocessors and they hired over 90% from Guatemala. Why? Because the people in Guatemala are desperate. Their country is war torn and hurricane ravaged. You may have heard of missiornaries in Guatemala. The missionaries are there because their country is in such dire straits. When Agriprocessors recruits from there and provides them false papers, Agriprocessors is being particularly heinous. Of course they will come and work in any capacity. Think of where they are from and the condition their country is in. Then, when they arrived, Agriprocessors worked them to death! They worked them long, long hours with no overtime pay. They would not let them go to the bathroom. In some cases they beat them. In some cases they took most of their earnings and made them live in shacks. Its all in the warrant. Agriprocessors was one of the worst, most heinous employers of all time!
Agriprocessors was based in New York. They moved their plants to remote locations to exploit people. One plant to Postville where they brought in illegal immigrants. Another plant to an Indian Reservation where they employed Native Americans.
Some of the workers from the Reservation Plant came to Postville after the raids because they were promised more money and free room and board. These Native American workers quickly left. They said the conditions were much, much worse in the Postville factory than in the Indian Reservation factory, plus they were not provided the additional compensation promised them.
I don't disagree that if the claims are accurate about Agriprocessors that they should be punished but the part I am talking about is the aiding and abetting part. That is against the law! The Catholic Church goes beyond being humane, they are getting involved in our immigration policies and so are these sanctuary cities. Hiding and protecting illegal aliens from federal immigration laws goes beyond any compassion.
Dee said...
Pat,
You are way off.
Agriprocessors is a heinous, exploitive employer.
Here you are making the assumption that Agriprocessors is the one when it is in fact the managers/supervisors.
Dee said...
Liquid,
Additionally, Agriprocessors continues to wreck havoc upon Postville. You have not commented on this:
Actually I have commented on this, go back to the other topic of this company, you will see, I don't believe I have to keep re-iterating the same things over and over.
You are blaming the company (Agriprocessors) for these 'new' employees, when in fact it was an employment agency making these claims. Quit confounding the problem with your lack of comprehension and assumptions.
Your assumptions of them being brought in from Guatemala does not jive with the article you have linked to, where in it states, new arrivals to town would have to go through Amara and purchase a car before they could ask for a job. Please get the story straight.
A lot of what you say has not been proven about Agriprocessors. A lot of it is hearsay. You can never separate hearsay, opinion from actual proven facts and that has always been your downfall in your desperate attempts for a conviction without a trial.
As far as the bathroom breaks go, wasn't it another employer from a while back who was "accused" of that from what I recall and not Agriprocessors? Wasn't that also the same one who was "accused" of chaining employees to their work stations? I don't recall a conviction of that either.
How do you know that Agriprocessors moved from New York to Postville to exploit workers? They could have exploited them in New York also. Usually an employer will move to a smaller city because the cost of doing business is cheaper there such as lower rents or cheaper to purchase property there, lower taxes, etc. More hearsay and opinion on your part as usual without really knowing the facts.
I am not sticking up for them but I have a problem with anyone being tried and convicted without benefit of our criminal justice system.
The warrant says it all. You choose not to believe the warrant. The warrant also contained enough information for probable cause to arrest Amara!
Because you and your side CHOOSE not to read nor support the facts, and because you refuse to support this arrest for probable cause, Amara was allowed to escape prosecution and his information cannot be used to get him to roll on the owners.
Until you and your side decide it is AS important and in fact MORE important to arrest and sanction the owners and their managers, we will continue to have status quo with only the workers being subject to Cattle Barn justice!
EMPLOYERS as well as ILLEGAL ALIENS
must be punished. I think this is something that antis and pro-illegals can agree on.
Anon,
I know the PROs agree and have strongly advocated that Agriprocessors be punished. From the 1st day of the sweeps we have said so and many groups have written to ICE, written blogs, emails to Congress, etc etc all to no avail. Agriprocessors continues to go uncharged even though the warrant itself used to conduct the sweep provides probable cause and, at a minimum, Amara should have been arrested. Once Amara was arrested, he could have been influenced to provide evidence against the owners. However, since Agriprocessors is a huge GOP PAC donor, no one from management was charged at all and now Amara was whisked away to Israel. No one is up in arms about this except the PROs and the exploited workers.
WTH? "We" are responsible for his escape to Israel? "We" said we don't believe some warrant? "We" said we didn't support his arrest? Why are you including us anti's in what action the law did or didn't take in this case? What has the anti movement of regular everyday Americans have to do with this case or any others? You are just angry again and so you take it out on the anti's on your blog and other antis. Get a grip and put the blame where the blame belongs. Don't put it on us. We aren't law enforcment! I really think you need an anger management class.
anon, I agree and we anti's in this blog and every other anti that I know of hold both the employers and the illegals equally accountable and rightly so! Yet we are constantly accused in here of not saying or meaning it. The constant repeats of this and accusations border on the bizarre when the posts are right here to for all to read.
"You are blaming the company (Agriprocessors) for these 'new' employees, when in fact it was an employment agency making these claims. Quit confounding the problem with your lack of comprehension and assumptions."
So what your saying is that the CEO's/OWNER's had NO IDEA of hiring/taking advantage of immigrants from a war-torn country (Guatemala). If this were the case the CEO's/OWNER's are stupid and incompetent for not knowing OR (and I bet on the OR) they know and allow this to go on because the blood-money is just too much to turn down and who cares about these poor ppl right, they have no rights so why should they be entitled to HUMAN-rights (sarcasm).
disgusting!!!
The Owner was probably under the impression that his companies CEO was running and operating the business just fine. It was the managers/supervisors that were hiring and exploiting the workers. Read the article, the "Illegal Immigrants" were coming to Postville looking for work, they were told by other "Illegal Immigrants" that they needed to buy a car from Amara, after that to ask about work and they would be hired. They knew what they were doing, and they knew they would be able to work to earn money, they are just as much to blame.
Read the article and comprehend it.
Dee said...
Anon,
I know the PROs agree and have strongly advocated that Agriprocessors be punished.
So you condemn the entire company and want to punish the entire company for the actions, so far, of a few. You would rather the owner be placed out of business because of the actions of a few.
Look to the LAW, understand how it works, look to who is actually responsible for the atrocities and blame only them. Quit with the assumptions, it shows your prejudice and ignorance. You are too quick to condemn the owner with absolutely NO proof he knew anything about it. So far only the Managers and Supervisors are found to have anything to do with the situation.
As far as Postville being devastated by Agriprocessor's, I could swear I already brought that fact up in the other Ag. topic, so no need to re-iterate what i have already stated.
Dee said:
Because you and your side CHOOSE not to read nor support the facts, and because you refuse to support this arrest for probable cause, Amara was allowed to escape prosecution and his information cannot be used to get him to roll on the owners.
I am pretty sure we already went over Amara, we all should agree, READ what I and Pat have posted. Amara was a Manager/Supervisor, had nothing to do with the owner of the company. If you wish to blame someone for allowing him to be let off and not arrested, blame ICE and the officers involved for not apprehending him. Just because we are not making a stink over this as you are, it does not mean that we don't agree on this situation.
It is important to arrest the perpetrators of the crimes involved, just maybe it only went as far as the managers and not to the owner, your prejudice and ignorance are again showing.
Dee said:
Once Amara was arrested, he could have been influenced to provide evidence against the owners.
And you know for a FACT that he can turn and provide evidence against the owners, how? and with what? Theres that "Innocent until 'PROVEN' guilty" thing again. Damn the Law, if you don't agree with it try to have it changed.
anon 1, no what we are saying is that "we" don't know if the owner was aware of what was going on with the supervisors/managers. It isn't up to "us" to decide. It is up to law enforcment to investiage the matter fully all the way up to the top. If the the lawlessness went all the way up to the top and included the owners, then of course they should be punished! All guilty parties should be punished!
What basic human rights weren't the illegals given after being arrested? What do you think should have happened to them? Should they have been released back into our society to work somewhere else with fake I.D.? ICE did what it was supposed to do...have reason to believe that they were working there illegally, arrest, detain and deport.
here's a good quick summary of the Employer laws:
Immigration raids often spare employers
Must prove they knew
Undocumented workers often face quick prosecution for so-called ''status crimes" such as being in the country illegally — charges that are easy to prove. Many of those arrested quickly plead guilty and serve sentences averaging as little as a month. But to convict employers, federal prosecutors must show that they knowingly hired undocumented immigrants, a threshold that demands more evidence.
"You have to show that the employer knowingly and willingly hired an illegal," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, a former Justice Department official. "A lot of these guys carry multiple Social Security cards" — making it difficult for employers to determine whether they are legally in the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, whose Cabinet department handles immigration enforcement, defended the two-tiered practice of arresting undocumented workers at worksites while taking time to assemble criminal cases against employers.
"When we find evidence of persistent, widespread hiring of illegals, we're going in to try to build a case against the employer if there's a case to be built," said Chertoff, a former federal appeals court judge.
Federal prosecutors often take years to put together cases against employers.
Immigration authorities raided IFCO, a Houston-based pallet company, more than two years ago. Seven managers and 1,187 undocumented workers were arrested, with many taken into custody at the company's plants in Texas and 25 other states. But it won't be until Oct. 16 that at least two managers, each free on $20,000 bond, will face sentencing after pleading guilty in the case.
Workers rather than managers also led the way into the courtroom after raids netted nearly 1,300 people at the Swift & Co. meat processing plant in Cactus and five other plants in five other states in 2006.
Eight undocumented workers pleaded guilty to felony charges within three months on such counts as illegally re-entering the United States after deportation and using someone else's Social Security number to obtain employment.
and one of the comments that sums it up:
The point of the law is that an employer has to "knowingly" hire an illegal. Many on this board seem to think that is too much to ask, but the word "knowingly" is completely justified when the illegal is breaking the law attempting to fool the employer.
We limit the ability of employers to investigate new employees and then complain when they can't catch illegals in lies. Let HR personnel ask simple questions like, "Where were you born?", "Why don't you speak English?", and God forbid..."Are you a US citizen?" and most HR managers will be able to filter out the illegals. You have to give them the tools before they can be held accountable. Then you can jail the owners and managers that "knowingly" hire illegal aliens.
That was well put Pat.
Here's one for the 'other' crowd...
If being illegally present in the USA is only an "Administrative Issue", is that then not the same thing as Agriprocessor's own situation. Is it not an "Administrative Issue", too? How quickly you are to condemn the owners with prejudice, yet how quickly you coddle the other side of the coin.
Work to make the law more stringent, it could then be used and enforced to make the employer liable, however, the 'other' side doesn't want it, thus they themselves are to blame for the employers 'going scott free' in most cases.
Liquid,
Here is where you totally lot this argument!
You say we can blame:
blame ICE and the officers involved for not apprehending him.
YES, the PROs do blame ICE and the Officers for not apprehending him. We have done so in countless ways. There was Probable Cause in the Warrant.
At least you acknowledge your side "did not make a stink." Your side did NOTHING! We were jumping up and down, writing emails, calling Congress and your side DID NOTHING!! Shame on you!!
All of this over 1 manager/supervisor. Like I said earlier, if he is a LPR/GC holder, once there is enough evidence ascertained, the USA will have him extradited from Isreal. And since Isreal and the USA are pretty close, I'm pretty sure they will give him up. Why make a stink about it, we have acknowledged it, now we are letting the prosecution build its case.
Where you lose the argument is by adding all your false assumptions and accusations against someone you don't even know that he had an idea of what was happening.
I totally agree, liquid. I have stated myself in here that it has to be proven that an employer "knowingly" hired illegal aliens. It could be HR, supervisors, managers and/or the owners. A way to put a stop to all guilty parties is to make the e-verify system manadatory but the pro-illegals complain about that. They complain about the employers yet they don't want to implement a method that will stop them.
How does dee know what the anti's have done to let our government know that we want the guilty employers prosecuted? She, doesn't! I have read on many anti and pro blogs and forums that they do want justice to be served all the way around.
She is just angry that justice was swift for the illegals and with citizens it takes more time for our criminal justice system to work. Bottom line is that what she is really mad about is that any illegals have been deported at all! How can a law abiding American take such a stance against their own country's laws?
I have to agree with Dee on several points regarding Agri-Processors. The top management of this company must have OR should have known that they had mostly illegal workers at the plant. There are crimes of commission and crimes of omission and the company probably committed both. I did read where they got no match letters on over 500 employees over the past few years. If that isn't a tip-off, I don't know what is.
The "ownership" charge may be more difficult. Are they a publicly traded company? If that is the case, stock owners are the owners and you can't charge them any more than any of us could be charged for holding stock ownership in a company we know nothing about. Top Management is the key here along with the supervisors and others who aided and abetted this operation, including any employment agencies who are responsible for providing LEGAL hires.
Furthermore, I have to agree with Dee that the company probably moved to Postville for the express purpose of hiring illegal workers. Postville certainly didn't have the workforce there. Same thing goes for the rest of the meat packing plants in this country.
Where I disagree with Dee is blaming US for this mess or for the lack of quick response. We'd like nothing better than the damn place shut down !!! Both the pros and the antis are victims of their own legislators and I for one am going to make damn sure my vote this fall reflects that when I oust them.
dianne, I would think that the no-match letters would go to the HR Dept.,not the owners. My gut tells me that the owner knew there were illegals on the payroll, however unlike some in here, I do not convict on my own personal gut feelings. It is up to law enforcement to complete their investigation.
It is mere speculation that Ariprocessors moved to Postville so they could hire ilegal aliens. There are many reasons why an employer relocates. As I said, I don't convict on my own personal feelings, it is up to law enforcement to seek out the truth.
Liquid,
You know as well as I do what happens. Our old friend Lupita frequently talked about it.
Companies like Agriprocessors have staffing offices in Mexico and Central America. They solicit workers and let them know, once they get to the US location they have a job and they will provide them papers. Lupita told us this countless times. Dont pretend you dont know.
It is obvious this is what happened in Guatemala. Why else would the rate of illegal immigrants from Guatemala be 5% in our country and in the Postville sweeps be 95%.
Come on Liquid! Catch up!!
Dianne,
Thank you for acknowledging the facts.
The open issue is the warrant. The warrant documented probable cause which should have enabled the authorities to arrest Amara.
Then, once arrested, they could have convinced him to "roll" on his employers.
The biggest question is, why didnt they arrest Amara at the time of the sweeps? They had probable cause. Why didnt they?
I know the answer. However, I want your side to know and understand it and come to the same conclusion on your own as well.
Dee said:
It is obvious this is what happened in Guatemala. Why else would the rate of illegal immigrants from Guatemala be 5% in our country and in the Postville sweeps be 95%.
Come on Liquid! Catch up!!
Come on, Dee, none of that is in the warrant or in the news articles you have posted. You are making things up as you go to fit your agenda, trying to gain sympathy for those that have came to work here to better their lives from which they came and wish to one day return to, to be able to retire in their home country and have enough money to retire on at a reasonable age. All thanks to the good ol'American employers.
You still can't fathom Company Lawyers and how they manipulate the laws and the Employment Agencies a lot of Big Business likes to use. The employment agencies along with the Lawyers are who placed ads in foreign countries that stipulated they must have authorized visas in order to obtain work at this specific company.
Again, I state, change the laws to stop all the corruption, yet your side wishes to allow the employers to be let off scott free, the lawyers to be let off scott free, etc. You make a lot of talk, yet your words speak volumes of your real agenda, allow one and all to be let off scott free, no punishment to any, yet you complain constantly of no punishment. Go figure!!
Dee said...
Dianne,
Thank you for acknowledging the facts.
The open issue is the warrant. The warrant documented probable cause which should have enabled the authorities to arrest Amara.
Then, once arrested, they could have convinced him to "roll" on his employers.
My god, you are as bad as Evelyn, neither of you can comprehend anything. Please link to the actual warrant, then we can go through it bit by bit, maybe then you can grasp what it states.
There are only assumptions in the warrant, a "search warrant" at that. Please learn how the law works, try to use it to your advantage, ignorance of the law and its process is un-becoming of you.
A search warrant is a court order issued by a judge or magistrate that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a criminal offense and seize such items.
Here are snippets from the introduction to the search warrant served on the Agriprocessors, Inc., meatpacking plant in Postville on Monday:
"Over at least the last two years, (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has received information concerning immigration offenses at and by employees of Agriprocessors, including allegations of harboring illegal aliens... engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring and continuing to employ undocumented aliens... document fraud... misuse of Social Security numbers... and aggravated identity theft. This affidavit sets forth some, but not all, of the information ICE and other law enforcement officers possess concerning potential violations of the above-referenced statutes and potentially other criminal laws, but rather, is a summary of evidence in ICE's possession sufficient to establish probable cause to support this search warrant.
"This criminal search warrant is sought simultaneously... in connection with the issuance of 697 criminal complaints and arrest warrants against persons believed to be current employees of Agriprocessors... Of the approximately 697 charged by complaint, the government currently possesses copies of photo identification for only about 15 individuals.
"There is reason to believe there will be other employees present at Agriprocessors facility whose lawful authority to reside and work in the United States is unknown. Accordingly, in conjunction with the execution of this criminal search warrant, ICE intends to question any alien or person found on the Agriprocessors property believed to be an alien as to his or her right to be or remain in the United States, for purposes of determining whether the alien should be administratively processed for removal.
The following is an abbreviated version of the testimony of 15 former and current employees of the facility included in the search warrant. The sources identities have been withheld in the search warrant:
— Source #1 was a supervisor at the plant between 2005 and 2006. That person supervised citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Eastern Europe, and estimated that 80 percent of these employees were illegally present in the United States. There was an incident at Agriprocessors where Source #1 discovered active methamphetamine production in the plant. The source partially destroyed the lab, which led to a physical confrontation with the source's immediate supervisor. Source #1 said he or she believes the incident led to their termination. There were also incidents of weapons being carried in Agriprocessors. Source #1 described a conversation with the Agriprocessors Human Resources Manager concerning three Social Security cards from three employees that all contained the same Social Security number, and that the Human Resources Manager laughed when it was brought to her attention. The source also described another conversation with the Human Resources Manager regarding Agriprocessors' employees' taxes and the fact that they were deducted and deposited in bank accounts belonging to an unknown person or people.
— Sources #2, #3 and #4 were arrested after an Aug. 30, 2007, altercation in Postville. All said they were foreign nationals illegally present in the United States, and that they were former Agriprocessors employees. They said they presented fraudulent Social Security cards and Permanent Resident Alien cards to gain employment there. Some of their Employment Eligibility Verification Forms were not properly certified.
— Source #6 was remanded to ICE custody from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office after he or she was arrested for drunken driving. The source said he or she was employed as an undocumented worker on one of Agriprocessors' farms between 2004 and 2006. A fraudulent Social Security card and Permanent Resident Alien card were presented to gain employment there.
— Source #7, a legal Hispanic immigrant, was paid by ICE to look for a job at the plant early this year while pretending to be an illegal immigrant. All of the source's conversations with human resources staff, supervisors and other employees were recorded during the employment process. The first time the source was told that the Social Security number ICE provided for him or her to use did not match his or her name. The next week, the source was provided a different Social Security number to use with the same name and was hired. Source #7 discovered other employees were being paid in cash or with different colored checks than the ones he or she received, possibly by an elementary school worker in Postville identified as the point of contact on letters to Agriprocessors employees noting "misunderstandings" with the employees' Social Security numbers. The source's rent also kept being increased by his or her landlord, and was told by other Hispanics that happened to other workers, as well.
In February, Source #7 told ICE agents he or she observed a Jewish floor supervisor duct-tape the eyes of an undocumented Guatemalan worker shut and hit the Guatemalan with a meat hook, apparently not causing serious injuries. The Guatemalan did not want to report the incident because "it would not do any good and could jeopardize his job." The company fired illegal immigrants on occasion with no explanation.
— On May 4, 2006, sources #8, #9 and #10 were arrested in connection with an investigation of the production of a potential explosive device found in a vehicle registered to a resident of Postville. The materials likely came from the Agriprocessors mechanical shop. Two sources had obtained employment there with fraudulent documents they had purchased, and all were illegal immigrants.
— An Iowa Department of Transportation investigator learned from talking with Des Moines County Treasurer's Office personnel that Source #14 was involved in making applications to title and register cars on behalf of people living in Postville. The source said that, more than 200 times, he or she received application information and money and had the registrations and titles sent to various Burlington/West Burlington addresses. Source #14 then arranged to pick up the documents and sent them to the vehicle owners in Postville.
Other facts found in the search warrant:
— Agriprocessors was notified of more than 1,000 discrepancies between names and Social Security numbers on workers' W-2 forms sent to the IRS between 2002 and 2005.
— In 2005, the Iowa DOT audited a Cedar Rapids car dealership that was selling a number of vehicles to an Agriprocessors supervisor. The manager of the unnamed dealership said the supervisor was a "personal friend of theirs," and that they supplied a large volume of cars to the supervisor for resale to people in the Postville area. That year, more than 50 vehicles were sold in that manner. Sales to Postville residents appeared to represent about 90 percent of the dealership's business. The sales violated Iowa law, which requires all dealers to be licensed.
Employees said that supervisor coerced them and others into to buy vehicles from him or they would be fired or not promoted.
This is pretty much what your article that you linked to in the original posting states. I don't see any of your "assumptions" in there at all.
Liquid,
I have provided all the links in previous posts. Most are from the Des Moines Register. The warrant is there. The number of Guatemalans are there.
How many times do I need to post these links. I have published both the warrant and the number of Guatemalans many, many times. Go look!!
Dee said...
Liquid,
You know as well as I do what happens. Our old friend Lupita frequently talked about it.
Companies like Agriprocessors have staffing offices in Mexico and Central America. They solicit workers and let them know, once they get to the US location they have a job and they will provide them papers. Lupita told us this countless times. Dont pretend you dont know.
Wow, how you change it.
There are companies that have became "middle men" known as Employment Agencies, these 'agencies' work with American Employers to provide assistance in the hiring of workers authorized to work in the USA and providing visas to these workers.
Now if you wish to blame someone, blame the Employment Agencies for providing ads in the local papers in the countries south of the border, where any person can see it and make their own choice to come to the USA and take a chance at getting a job and not getting caught.
Go back to Matt, read the postings where I was talking about this back then in the farming topics. Everything the employers have done have been in accordance with the law up to the point of the managers falsifying documents, etc., hiring known undocumented workers and then covering it up. The workers came of their own accord, nobody was 'bringing them in'.
The managers and some supervisors obviously had a "ring" going on, the pudding however, is still not quite gelled. The ascertainment of further evidence to indict Amara and the other managers/supervisors is still needed. The DOJ wants a case with NO chance for the plaintiffs to be let off. Solid evidence is what it takes.
You may have, however you have yet to provide proof of your accusations. None of your links account our assumptions.
Here's the link to the Warrant anyway.
Application and Affidavit forSearch Warrant
None of your links account your assumptions.
On the Laura Ingraham show today was the Assistant Head of ICE. She asked him why he wasn't going after the employers faster. He said they had to get a Grand Jury before they could proceed and that takes time.
Diane is correct, the perpetrators must be indicted if they are Citizens of the USA. For that, the search warrant was issued for Agriprocessor's so that 'evidence' could be ascertained to get an indictment. However, the other warrant was an 'criminal arrest warrant' with 600+ names on it, mostly for SS# violations. This is Dee's swift 'cattle barn' justice for "Immigration violations and identity theft.
Here is Dee's views on actual law and court information from a response she leaves on The Conservative Voice:
Immigration and the "Ruling Class"
Dee123 says:
"Regarding Agents Ramos and Compean. I trust the American Justice System to decide. It is not up to me to decide their fate. I only read what is shared in the media, not a court of law."
Could it also be the same thing here with Agriprocessors? Me thinks so. C'mon Dee, admit you have no regard for law and you believe the world should be ran according to your individual opinion and that of your sides opinions. Is that also why you insert fallacies and made up in-correct information along with false assumptions? Your a headline reader and believer.
You sure have been quick to condemn Aaron Rabushkin for crimes perpetuated by managers/supervisors that were in his company, all without "trusting the American Justice System."
You have most certainly "decided the fate" of Aaron Rabushkin and Agriprocessors as a company.
Liquid, I read some of the comments to dee in the link you provided and they really gave it to her, didn't they? lol
I think everybody will be happy to know that there have been arrests made of the Supervisors from Agriprocessors.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Agriprocessors Supervisors Arrested On Charges of Aiding Illegal Immigrants
"Federal agents on Thursday arrested two supervisors at Agriprocessors Inc., the country’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, on charges they helped illegal immigrants secure fake documents and encouraged them to reside in the U.S.
The arrests marked the first by U.S. authorities of individuals in supervisory roles at the Postville, Iowa, plant. On May 12, Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents arrested 389 workers at the facility, most of them undocumented immigrants from Latin America.
On Thursday, ICE agents arrested Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, and Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43, on various criminal immigration and fraudulent identity charges outlined in separate complaints filed in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A federal warrant has been issued for the arrest of another manager, Hosam Amara, 43, who hasn’t been located, according to a court statement."
Take note of the Hispanic Surnames of the Supervisors, and how it is their own they exploit.
Bravo! Glad they arrested those supervisors and that the guy who fled to Israel has a warrant out for his arrests also! Our criminal justice system has prevailed! Let's hope they have a strong case against them and they are convicted and imprisoned for a very long time.
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