Posted on 12/14/2006 8:28:38 AM PST by LdSentinal
The immigration raids on meatpacking plants in six states were the largest sweep of their kind against a single company and resulted in the arrests of 1,282 suspected illegal immigrants, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said yesterday.
The raids early Tuesday of facilities owned by meatpacking giant Swift & Co., based in Greeley, Colo., were followed by immigration charges against 18 percent of the 7,250 workers scheduled to work the morning shift, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said. More than 100 people were charged with crimes that included identity theft, Chertoff said, and that number is expected to grow. Federal and company officials estimated that 30 to 40 percent of Swift's workers had questionable documents.
U.S. officials had identified 331 Swift workers who used false identities, 170 of whom were still employed by the company, before the raid. But without authorities' knowledge, Swift in recent weeks had questioned suspect employees, causing 400 to quit or be fired, according to a federal judge in Amarillo, Tex., who denied a motion by Swift last Thursday to block the raids.
Swift reported yesterday that all its facilities have resumed operations but that output will remain below normal "over the short-term." The company said it anticipates "no adverse long-term impacts." Plants were raided in Greeley; Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Tex.; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minn.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union filed an injunction in Colorado seeking the release of workers. It contends that they were interrogated and detained illegally, and planned to file more in other states, spokeswoman Jill Cashen said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Unions do nothing for America.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union filed an injunction in Colorado seeking the release of workers. It contends that they were interrogated and detained illegally, and planned to file more in other states, spokeswoman Jill Cashen said.
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In true form, the union mobsters are just worried about keeping the flow of all the dues money they were sucking out of these illegals....
Interesting. To tell the truth, I'm both pleased by this action and at the same time wondering why they picked Swift to raid.
If clinton were still in charge, I'd say maybe Tyson was trying to damage a rival. Clinton sent the meat inspectors into a rival corporation back in the 90s, knocked down their stock value, and helped Tyson take them over at a bargain price in a hostile merger.
Bush is in charge now, but this kind of action seems unlike his style. The agencies still sometimes seem to be working for the clintons, with all those clintonoid holdovers in high places. I wonder. Let's see what happens.
The meat-packing industry is a high-payoff target. ICE isn't just trying to round up illegals - they could do that anywhere - they're trying to prosecute employers who intentionally hire illegals, as a matter of company policy. The bigger the company, the better.
The idea is to hit the worst offenders hard and hope the others clean up their act voluntarily. I would imagine that Swift probably seemed to be the worst of the violators, meaning the one with the most blatant policy of hiring illegals.
Who owns Swift and what happened to their stock?
I can hear it now go get new paper be back at work next week, this will come off your pay, and you don't get lunch breaks for one month.
I know in the case of Marshalltown Iowa, the workers brought into town have had a major impact. The schools are now 1/3 to 1/2 Hispanic speakers. Many areas of this lovely little town have changed considerably in character. I just imagine that they may have done this to all the towns.
Understand that Swift has been in operation in Marshalltown as long as I can remember. It is only within the last 20 years that Swift has imported all these special workers, instead of using the local work force. Could it be that they are able to pay lower salaries?
I hope that's true. As we were pointing out not long ago, the Bush administration seemed to have dropped prosecution of employers for hiring illegals. If this is a high profile case of finally enforcing the law, then more power to it. That's why I thought it was hopeful. The other angle is just my suspicious mind.
I guess Swift didn't bribe the proper officials.
I think they are part of CON-agra, but not sure.
The real villians go unpunished.
Swift execs admit that they did a previous check and found hundreds of illegals but did nothing, then complained to ICE (before the raid!) that it would take out at least 40% of their workers. Sounds like a conspiracy there, butI didn't see any Swift guys do the perp walk.
The Union has allowed the average hourly wage at Swift to go from $19/hr with benefits to $9/hr now, just so it could get more dues and a bigger voting block - screw the American workers.
And yet many Freepers (and Karl Rove and George Bush and Mehlman and Martinez) support these companies and these unions in the feeble hope that these illegals will all become good little Republican voters. Not!
ICE is NOT threatening employers.
Swift execs got off scot-free in this raid even though there is documented evidence theat they knew the status of most of these workers.
This was another Chertoff-Myers dog and pony show.
Every one of these illegals will be back at work at Swift or elsewhere with new phony papers.
A lot of young American workers are going to get the big shock of their lives years from now when they see their Social Security records all screwed up, the IRS accusing them of unreported income, and their credit rating shot.
And don't expect the political elites to come to their aid with the same vigor as they do for the illegal aliens.
That indicates that they can operate without illegals if they really want to.
There is humor in that statement.
Once the meat-processing business of agriculture giant ConAgra, Swift was spun off and is now indirectly owned, through various holding companies, by HM Capital Partners (formerly Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst) and Booth Creek Management. ConAgra still obtains fresh beef, pork, and lamb from its former subsidiary, but it only accounts for a small percentage of Swift's sales.
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