Posted on 01/07/2018 8:57:39 AM PST by Wolfie
Michigan dairy farmer gets prison time for hiring undocumented immigrants
A Michigan dairy farmer is to spend a couple of years in federal prison and owes a six-figure fine for hiring undocumented immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington on Thursday, Jan. 4, sentenced Denis Burke to two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Ludington did not order Burke taken into custody on Thursday, but gave him time to self-report to the U.S. Marshals Services.
The judge also ordered Burke to pay a fine of $187,500 and an assessment fee of $100.
Burke in September pleaded guilty to knowingly harboring illegal aliens for private gain and/or commercial advantage.
In exchange for his plea, the prosecution dismissed four more counts of the same charge.
Burke's wife and codefendant, Madeline Burke, in June pleaded guilty to one count of hiring without verification of employment eligibility. In September, she received two years' probation and was also ordered to pay the same fine with monthly installments of $15,600.
The Burkes own Parisville Dairy in Huron County and Dunganstown Dairy in Tuscola County. Between February 2008 and May 2013, the couple hired and harbored more than 100 undocumented immigrants to work on their farms, Denis Burke's plea agreement states.
"Denis Burke gave the illegal aliens free housing on or next to his farms so the illegal aliens would be readily available for work and less accessible to immigration authorities," the document states. "Because the illegal aliens lacked valid documentation, they could not get driver's licenses, open accounts at financial institutions so they could cash paychecks themselves, or register vehicles with the Michigan Secretary of State."
As a result of this, the workers relied on others to drive them around.
On Feb. 1, 2013, a Bad Axe police officer pulled over a vehicle driven by Yolanda Stewart and containing five passengers. All of the passengers were undocumented immigrants working at the Burkes' farms.
Denis Burke was aware that Stewart regularly drove his employees to town so they could go shopping and wire money to their families in other countries, the plea agreement states. Investigators found paystubs from the farms, MoneyGram receipts, and an identification document issued by the Mexican consulate in Stewart's car.
Stewart's five passengers were arrested. As a result, his remaining employees were afraid to leave the farms. Denis Burke thus paid Stewart $800 to buy groceries for his workers so the farms could continue operating, the document states.
In July 2016, Stewart pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport, harbor, and shield illegal aliens from detection for private financial gain. In November, a judge sentenced her to 27 months in federal prison.
A grand jury had indicted the Burkes in September 2016.
Outstanding !
The Police in California would be busy if not for Jerry the Clown.
The proper way to deal with illegal immigration.
What about the thousands of businesses in California, and the politicians protecting the illegals? Until some of the big boys end up in prison nothing will change.
There are many more like them in the country.
A good start.
They all have been enabled by bad policies.
The crimihrants should have cheese it while they had a chance.
The crimihrants should have cheese’d it while they had a chance.
This is the type of enforcement that will reduce the hiring of illegal aliens.
WTF, every damn restaurant employs illegals, and they go after a dairy farmer?
Greedy little traitor.
They all have been enabled by bad policies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The policy of non-enforcement began with GHW Bush and has been going on for 30 years.
That’s how we ended up with 30 million illegal aliens.
The Ministry of Propaganda has been using the 11-12 million figure since Bush II.
I saw on the chart that a Freeper posted a few days ago that there are a lot of sealed indictments in Eastern Washington. That is where the state’s agriculture is so there are likely many farmers using illegals.
I was surprised to see that there are many more sealed indictments in Eastern Washington as opposed to Western Washington. Western is much more densely populated so have to suspect that many of the indictments will be against Washington farmers on the eastside.
There are 30 construction sites within 15 minutes of me that employ way more illegals than all the dairy farms in Michigan.
While admittedly a small fish in a very big ocean, a good first step.
Someone had to be first.
GIT’ER DONE MICHIGAN!
This guy and his wife set up housing, bought groceries for the invaders and evidently had someone drive them around.
He went above and beyond just hiring them.
Should they ignore the dairy farmer because you have warm feelings for farmers?
Go after them all, and to hell with if it makes anyone “feel bad”.
I guess some unlucky person had to be first, or among the first. And there are tens of thousands, and probably a few hundred thousand employing illegal aliens still to be investigated and prosecuted.
But once it becomes common for employers hiring illegals to be fined and sent off to prison, that will work wonders in reducing the incentives for illegals to enter the US.
The law apparently only applies to private sector employers.
We need laws which would apply to govt offices which hire or give benefits to illegals. Jail some politicians too.
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