Posted on 12/12/2006 8:43:54 AM PST by conservativecorner
GREELEY, Colo. — Federal agents raided six Swift & Co. processing plants in six states on Tuesday in search of illegal immigrants who stole the identities of lawful U.S. residents and used their Social Security numbers to get jobs at the beef and pork company.
Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency executed search warrants at Swift's processing facilities in Greeley, Colo.; Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minn.
ICE officials did not have an arrest total but said workers were being arrested on administrative immigration violations and in some cases, existing criminal arrest warrants. The warrants allow federal agents to arrest anyone at the plant who is in the United States illegally.
They said criminal charges of aggravated identity theft and other violations were possible.
A company statement obtained by FOXNews.com said all the facilities raided except the one in Hyrum are unionized. No civil or criminal charges have yet been filed against Swift or any current employees.
The company said every employee hired since 1997 have completed the proper forms and received proper work authorization from the government.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I would too.
"Twenty million illegals in the US. The ICE agents have to be careful not to trip over them all, but a couple times a year they have to justify their phony-baloney jobs by making a raid and issuing a press release."
You've nailed it. Plus, they were looking for fraudulent ID, they weren't looking to deport them because they were illegal. Stand by for the "If we just had Comprehensive Immigration Reform they wouldn't have to steal ID from honest Americans" crap in the MSM. We're going to merge with Mexico whether the citizens of this country want to or not.
1 down, 100,000 to go.
I drove right by the Swift plant in Greeley while this was all going down. Police were setting up road blocks, the ICE agents were hard at work, and there were families of the illegals across the street crying and carrying on. The press and TV crews were swarming about.
The district attorney was just on the radio. He says there were about 160 ICE agents involved and they arrested about 200 illegals. Swift uses the governments program to check the employees ID's, so the illegals are now using stolen identities to get jobs. The local radio interviews were full of hysterical families of those arrested.
They failed to mention the hundreds of hysterical families that had their identities stolen so that these ILLEGAL ALIENS can steal, yes steal, American jobs and suppress American wages.
http://www.greeleytrib.com/
• On May 19, 2004, a man claiming to be Leonard Michael Lopez filled out forms identifying him as a citizen with a Colorado I.D., which actually belonged to Aaron Steiger. FTC records show Lopez’s mother, Colorado resident, filed a complaint after she learned someone had used his social security number and his disability benefits were terminated on Feb. 1, 2003. An ICE agent compared a photo of Lopez from his Arizona driver’s license with a photo of the Swift worker and a photo of Steiger. None of them matched.
• On May 12, 2003, a man claiming to be Javier Frias filled out forms identifying him as a citizen with a Kansas I.D. FTC records show Frias is actual a Texas resident and filed a complaint after learning someone at Swift had been using his social security number. An ICE agent compared photos of Frias and the Swift employee and determined they are different people.
• On July 31, 2002, a woman claiming to be Vanessa Caraveo filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Colorado I.D. FTC records show Caraveo is actually a Texas resident and filed a complaint after she learned someone used her information to get loans from the Credit Union of Dodge City. Caraveo thinks her information may have been stolen along with her wallet. An ICE agent compared photos of Caraveo with the Swift worker and determined they are different people. Caraveo told an ICE agent she has never lived in Colorado and is about 5 feet 4 inches, weighing 180 pounds. The warrant sought a female who is about 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 110 pounds.
• On July 28, 2001, a man claiming to be Valentin Rodriguez filled out forms identifying him as a citizen with Kansas I.D. FTC records show Rodriguez is actually a Texas resident and thinks his information may have been stolen when he lost his wallet. An ICE agent compared photos of Rodriguez and the Swift worker and determined they were different people.
• On Oct. 31, 2001, a woman claiming to be Monica Salazar filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Colorado I.D. FTC records show Monica Mora is a Missouri resident and filed a complaint after the IRS told her she had failed to claim all her earnings. An ICE agent compared photos of Mora and the Swift worker and determined they are different people. Mora told and ICE agent Salazar is her maiden name and she has never lived in Colorado. She also said a company called about a year ago and asked her to pay for an English language course she’d never bought.
• On Dec. 24, 2002, a woman claiming to be Jessica Arlina Borquez filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Colorado I.D. FTC records show Borquez is actually an Arizona resident and filed a complaint after the IRS told her she had failed to claim all her earnings. An ICE agent compared photos of Borquez and the Swift worker and determined they are different people.
• On Jan. 14, 2003, a man claiming to be Gustavo Gutierrez filed out forms identifying him as a citizen with a Missouri I.D. FTC records show Gutierrez is actually a California resident. An ICE agent compared photos of Gutierrez and the Swift worker and determined they are different people. Gutierrez told an agent he had lived in Colorado between 1998-2002 but had never lived in Missouri. He said he had committed a crime while in Colorado and served two years in jail. He thinks his information may have been stolen during that time.
• On June 30, 2004, a man claiming to be Andrew Moreno filled out forms identifying him as a citizen with a Kansas I.D. FTC records show Moreno is actually a Texas resident and filed a complaint after the IRS told him he failed to claim all his earning in 2002. FTC records also show someone had used his I.D. to get jobs with Farmland National Beef Packing Company in Liberal, Kan., U-Haul in Phoenix and Excel Corporation in Minneapolis. An ICE agent compared the signature on Moreno’s I.D. card with the signature of the Swift worker and found they didn’t match. Moreno told an agent he has always lived in Texas. He said his birth certificate may have been stolen and he now owes the IRS because of someone else’s earnings.
• On June 4, 2003, a woman claiming to be Maria Soto filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Missouri I.D. FTC records show Soto is actually a Texas resident. An ICE agent compared photos of Soto and the Swift worker and determined they are different people. Soto told an agent she had lived her whole life in Texas.
• On Nov. 4, 2003, a man claiming to Jose Hector Miramontes filled out forms identifying him as a citizen with a Kansas I.D. FTC records show Miramontes is actually a Texas resident and filed a complaint after someone used his information to open an account with SBC. An ICE agent compared photos of Miramontes and the Swift worker and determined they are different people. Miramontes told and agent he has only lived in Texas but got a letter from the IRS that said he owed taxes on Colorado earnings. Miramontes thinks someone may have stolen is identity from a wallet he lost.
• On Oct. 30, 2003, a man claiming to be Luis J. Pena filled out forms identifying him as a citizen and a Colorado driver’s license. FTC records list Pena as an Arizona resident and filed a complaint after a credit report indicated he had worked at several companies he’d never heard of. An ICE agent compared photos of Pena and the Swift employee and determined they are different people. Pena told agents he works for the U.S. Border Patrol in Nogales, Ariz. He said he learned in 1998 or 1999 he requested his credit report and learned about the problems.
• On Sept. 3, 2002, a man claiming to be Levy Jacob Medina filled out a form identifying him as a citizen with a Kansas I.D. FTC records show Medina is actually a Texas resident and filed a complaint after the IRS sent him a letter about unclaimed income on his 2004 tax returns. An ICE agent compared photos of Medina with the Swift employee and determined they are different people. Medina’s nephew told an agent his uncle had returned to Mexico.
• On June 11, 2003, a man claiming to be Daniel Aaron Trujillo filled out forms identifying him as citizen with a Kansas I.D. FTC records list him as a Colorado resident and show he filed a complaint after the IRS let him know someone had used his information to get a job at Swift. An ICE agent compared photos of Trujillo and the Swift worker and determined they are not the same person. Trujillo told agents he filed a complaint with the FTC two weeks ago. He said he lost his social security card ad birth certificate in 2003 while he was moving. He said he was born in Colorado and has never lived in Kansas. He also said his is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. The warrant is for a suspect who is 5 feet tall and weighs 125 pounds.
• On May 16, 2003, a woman claiming to be Maria Padilla filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Kansas I.D. FTC records show Padilla is actually a California resident and filed a complaint after she learned someone had used her information to get a job at an unknown company and open an account with Amerencips. An ICE agent compared photos of Padilla and a Swift employee and determined they are different people.
• On Aug. 18, 2003, a man claiming to be Javier Nevarez filled out forms identifying him as a citizen with a Kansas I.D. FTC records show Nevarez is actually a Texas resident and filed a complaint saying someone used his identity to open a credit card account with Citi Bank and an account with Southwestern Bell. He said he’d gotten bills for about $1,000. An agent compared photos of Nevarez and the Swift worker and determined they are different people.
• On Feb. 9, 2003, Flavio Alvarado-Villagrana filled out forms identifying him as a citizen with Kansas I.D. FTC records show Alvarado-Villagrana is a resident of Colorado and filed a complaint that someone was using his information to for employment purposes. ICE agents compared a photo of Alvarado-Villagrana with that of the Swift employee and determined they are different people. Alvarado-Villagrana told ICE agents he wished to pursue charges.
• On May 15, 2003, a man identifying himself as Aaron Rey Juarez filled out forms identifying him as citizen with a Wyoming I.D. FTC records show Juarez is actually a California resident, and he believes his information may have been stolen when he lost his wallet. ICE agents compared his driver’s license photo with a photo of the Swift employee and determined they are not the same people. Juarez’s wife told agents her husband had never lived in Colorado or Wyoming and someone had used his I.D. to apply for at least seven places, including “Swift Beef Company.”
• On Nov. 21, 2005, a woman claiming to be Maria Benavente filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a California I.D. FTC records show Benavente is actually a resident of Texas and filed a complaint after she got a letter from the IRS. ICE agents compared photos of Benavente and the Swift employee and determined they are different people. Benavente told agents she has never lived in California, has never been employed and is about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. The warrant is filed for a woman who is about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 153 pounds.
• On Aug. 6, 2001, a woman claiming to be Karina Jimenez filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Utah I.D. FTC records show Jimenez is actually a California resident and filed a complaint after the IRS contacted her and said someone had used her information for employment purposes in Colorado and Texas. ICE agents compared photos of Jimenez and the Swift employee and determined they were different people. Jimenez told agents she has never lived in Utah and is a U.S. citizen by birth. She said she wished to pursue charges.
• On Apr. 8, 2005, a woman claiming to be Theresa Sanchez filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Colorado I.D. FTC records show Sanchez is actually a Texas resident and filed a complaint after she got a statement from the IRS in Jan. 2003, that her tax refund of $5,400 was being held because she had failed to report $120,000 in wages since 1996. ICE agents compared photos of Sanchez and the Swift employee and determined they are different people. Sanchez told an ICE agent she has only lived in Texas and is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. The arrest warrant is for a woman who is about 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. According to the FTC the suspect used Sanchez’s name and social security number for jobs, college and to get unemployment benefits. Sanchez provided several addresses for the suspect and thought she might have gotten her information from her ex-husband. She also said she has been denied credit.
• On July 6, 2006, a woman claiming to be Edna Flores completed a portion of her Form I-9 that identified her as a U.S. citizen with a Colorado I.D. card. Federal Trade Commission records show Edna Flores is actually a resident of Texas and filed a complaint after she got a notice from the IRS saying she owed back taxes. ICE agents compared a photo of Edna Flores with the Swift employee and determined they were different people.
• On Nov. 26, 2002, a man claiming to be Otilio Torres Rivera completed forms that identified her as a citizen with a North Carolina I.D. card. A death certificate shows Rivera died Feb. 2, 2005. His sister filed a complaint after receiving an earning report from the Social Security Administration saying he was employed. His sister also reported Virginia police told her Rivera’s vehicle was in an accident after he had died.
• On Jan. 4, 2002, a man claiming to be Alvino De Leon Correa completed forms that identified him as citizen with a Colorado I.D. card. FTC records show Correa is actually a resident of Texas. He believes his information may have been stolen when he lost his wallet. ICE agents compared a driver’s license photo of Correa with that of the Swift employee and determined they were different people.
• On July 30, 2001, a woman claiming to be Yesenia Lopez filled out forms identifying her as citizen with a Nebraska I.D. card. FTC record show Yesenia Hernandez is a California resident and filed a complaint after she learned someone using her maiden name was employed at “Swift Beef Company.” Ice agents used a copy of her driver’s license to determine she and the Swift employee were different people. When contacted by agents, she said Hernandez said she had never lived in Nebraska or Colorado.
• On Mar. 11, 2003, a woman claiming to be Jennifer Rosas filled out forms identifying her as a citizen with a Colorado I.D. card. FTC records show that Rosas is actually a resident of Texas and filed a complaint after learning someone used her I.D. to get a driver’s license in Arkansas and get a job at “Swift Beef Company.” She reported someone may have stolen her I.D. when they stole her purse. ICE agents compared her driver’s license photo with a photo of the Swift employee and determined they are different people.
What do they all have in common?
Local story from here in Iowa:
http://www.kcci.com/news/10520376/detail.html
I'm in favor of the fence, but this is far more effective. It should happen every day.
I'm in favor of the fence, but this is far more effective. It should happen every day.
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I don't agree that the fence, if done right, can be outdone by anything. And the companies that use illegal labor must be penalized BIG TIME. IT MUST HURT, REALLY HURT. But that will not happen -- niether will the fence because it is the big business crowd that wants the border open.
Case closed. America's soverignty has been bought and paid for in campaign contributions.
A mistake a lot of people make is that they think the invaders are stupid. They aren't.
They respond to financial incentive the same as anyone else. Given enough money, relatively speaking, there is no fence high or strong enough to keep them out. Remove the financial incentive by denying employers the right to hire them and they won't come here. They're not stupid.
Neither system will work completely, but together, and along with other disincentives a real impact can be made on this problem.
During WWI, WWII, and in many other hard times our soldiers and our country hung in through the impossible days.
I'm sorry you've thrown in the towel over something so solvable. Those hundreds of thousands who've paid the ultimate price deserve better in my opinion.
I have read all comments and I dont feel most of you know what has happened. Swift participates in the pilot program that the government set up we are required to enter the SS# of the employee that applys for work if the SS# comes back as a valid number we hire the applicant as long as all other documents are in place also. There are serious flaws in the pilot program it does not match a name to the SS# it only lets the company know if the SS# is valid. In the past the company has had a class action lawsuit filed against it for asking too many questions of applicants and for not hiring the based on the questions. At no time did or would Swift and Company knowenly hire illegal workers. The government needs to step up and correct the illegal immigrant problem and help companies weed out illegals.
Just my two cents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Agreed! The SS Administration gets all kinds of income from the same numbers. Using a computer, they could tell if they were too young or too old to be working. They could also notify ICE and have them check these people out.
They must've had a pretty good idea that they were employing illegals. They told a judge a raid by ICE would cost them up to 40% of their workers.
Immigration officials last month informed Swift that it would remove unauthorized workers on Dec. 4, but Swift asked a federal judge to prevent agents from conducting the raid, arguing it would cause "substantial and irreparable injury" to its business.
The company estimated a raid would remove up to 40 percent of its 13,000 workers.
Then they flock to places like Swift & Co. where they show the "proper" papers and the work "authorization" from "the government" and then they are hired.
The lying, crooked weasels at Swift know all about this scam and so does the government. The weasels cop a plea that the workers have all the necessary documentation even thought they know the papers are all fake.
Are we living in an alternate universe or what?
Of course I'm boycotting all of Swift's chopped weasel-meat products at my local supermarket. I'm repelled by weasels whether they're at Swift or Enron.
Leni
Thanks, that confirms my understanding.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday the investigation uncovered a "disturbing front" in the war against illegal immigration, in which illegal immigrants are using the identities of U.S. citizens to obtain jobs.
"Violations of our immigration laws and privacy rights often go hand in hand," he said. "Enforcement actions like this one protect the privacy rights of innocent Americans while striking a blow against illegal immigration."
Oh, I don't doubt that they knew it, but had been intimidated into doing nothing about it. By guess who:
"Current law limits an employer's ability to scrutinize the background and identity of new hires, and — as Swift learned first-hand — employers can, in fact, be punished for probing too deeply into applicants' backgrounds," the company said.
That was in reference to the 2000 complaint filed by the Justice Department's Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices that alleged Swift engaged in a "pattern and practice" of document-based discrimination against job applicants. The department sought civil damages of $2.5 million.
The Justice Department said Swift's Worthington, Minn., plant engaged in discrimination and unfair practices when hiring U.S. citizens and lawful immigrant workers who were believed to look or sound "foreign." Justice claimed those individuals were more heavily scrutinized than others during the employment process.
After two years, Swift settled the claim for about $200,000.
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