Got this from TEAM today - makes you wonder if Cargill/IBP influence extends into Homeland Security.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security arrested 1,282 workers at six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in six states on Tuesday, with the vast majority charged administratively with being in the country without legal documentation. About 65 face criminal charges, including an undisclosed number for identity theft.
Marc Raimondi, an ICE spokesman, told Meatingplace.com that "no one is immune from workplace actions," and that further action against other meat industry employers is a possibility. Raimondi said Swift was singled out because there appeared to be a "large concentration" of workers using documents obtained from a ring of identity thieves working at Swift plants.
The arrests, which account for nearly 10 percent of workers in the six plants, were evenly distributed throughout the Swift network. In Cactus, Texas, 295 were arrested, 20 on criminal charges; 261 were arrested in the main Greeley, Colo., plant, 11 on criminal charges; 261 were arrested in Grand Island, Neb., one on criminal charges; 230 were arrested in Worthington, Minn., none on criminal charges; 145 were arrested in Hyrum, Utah, 31 on criminal charges; and 90 were arrested in Marshalltown, Iowa, two on criminal charges.
Countries of origin included Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, Laos, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Raimondi emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, and that some being held on administrative charges, which are generally punished with deportation, may have criminal charges added as the interview process continues.
Industry impact
The effect on the industry is unclear. Swift said in a statement that it had resumed operations by late Tuesday, but expected reduced levels of output for the short term. Local reports indicated that some cattle were temporarily returned to feedlots.
Meanwhile, Gary Mickelson, a spokesman with Tyson Foods, Springdale, Ark., told Meatingplace.com that ICE had not contacted the company and "plants were operating normally today and running at expected production levels."
The larger issue may be why Swift, and why now? When the dust cleared, only a small percentage of employees were charged with crimes. Swift attempted and failed to obtain an injunction against a raid last week, and Chief Executive Sam Rovit said that the company repeatedly asked ICE what Swift could do to help, and had been "rebuffed."
Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security told MSNBC that Swift was targeted for what the agency called Operation Wagon Train after ICE agents noticed that Swift employees it interviewed in unrelated matters produced stolen identities, and tips came in from co-workers alleging widespread use of seemingly authentic identification that actually belonged to someone else. The federal database used to corroborate the legal status of employees cannot distinguish a legitimate ID from a stolen one if the name and social security number match, Chertoff said.
ICE representatives also claimed that Swift disrupted the investigation, first by conducting its own investigation after being notified by ICE of its planned actions, then by attempting to halt the raids through the courts. ICE says that 400 employees left Swift voluntarily during the company's internal investigation, "taking their potentially fraudulent documents with them," according to MSNBC reports.
Calls for change
Chertoff used the occasion to call for changes in federal law, saying that federal data could have caught the identity thieves, but present law prevents DHS from linking its own data to Social Security data. "I call on Congress to take up this issue of revising Social Security rules so we can further protect Americans from identity theft and protect our borders against illegal immigration," Chertoff said.
Ken Salazar, Democratic senator from Colorado, used the occasion to demand comprehensive immigration reform. While those involved in identity theft should be caught and punished, he said, the "ripple effect" of the raids "calls attention to the human side of the enforcement of our immigration laws and the impact it has on our local communities and businesses."
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security arrested 1,282 workers at six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in six states on Tuesday, with the vast majority charged administratively with being in the country without legal documentation. About 65 face criminal charges, including an undisclosed number for identity theft.
Marc Raimondi, an ICE spokesman, told Meatingplace.com that "no one is immune from workplace actions," and that further action against other meat industry employers is a possibility. Raimondi said Swift was singled out because there appeared to be a "large concentration" of workers using documents obtained from a ring of identity thieves working at Swift plants.
The arrests, which account for nearly 10 percent of workers in the six plants, were evenly distributed throughout the Swift network. In Cactus, Texas, 295 were arrested, 20 on criminal charges; 261 were arrested in the main Greeley, Colo., plant, 11 on criminal charges; 261 were arrested in Grand Island, Neb., one on criminal charges; 230 were arrested in Worthington, Minn., none on criminal charges; 145 were arrested in Hyrum, Utah, 31 on criminal charges; and 90 were arrested in Marshalltown, Iowa, two on criminal charges.
Countries of origin included Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, Laos, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Raimondi emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, and that some being held on administrative charges, which are generally punished with deportation, may have criminal charges added as the interview process continues.
Industry impact
The effect on the industry is unclear. Swift said in a statement that it had resumed operations by late Tuesday, but expected reduced levels of output for the short term. Local reports indicated that some cattle were temporarily returned to feedlots.
Meanwhile, Gary Mickelson, a spokesman with Tyson Foods, Springdale, Ark., told Meatingplace.com that ICE had not contacted the company and "plants were operating normally today and running at expected production levels."
The larger issue may be why Swift, and why now? When the dust cleared, only a small percentage of employees were charged with crimes. Swift attempted and failed to obtain an injunction against a raid last week, and Chief Executive Sam Rovit said that the company repeatedly asked ICE what Swift could do to help, and had been "rebuffed."
Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security told MSNBC that Swift was targeted for what the agency called Operation Wagon Train after ICE agents noticed that Swift employees it interviewed in unrelated matters produced stolen identities, and tips came in from co-workers alleging widespread use of seemingly authentic identification that actually belonged to someone else. The federal database used to corroborate the legal status of employees cannot distinguish a legitimate ID from a stolen one if the name and social security number match, Chertoff said.
ICE representatives also claimed that Swift disrupted the investigation, first by conducting its own investigation after being notified by ICE of its planned actions, then by attempting to halt the raids through the courts. ICE says that 400 employees left Swift voluntarily during the company's internal investigation, "taking their potentially fraudulent documents with them," according to MSNBC reports.
Calls for change
Chertoff used the occasion to call for changes in federal law, saying that federal data could have caught the identity thieves, but present law prevents DHS from linking its own data to Social Security data. "I call on Congress to take up this issue of revising Social Security rules so we can further protect Americans from identity theft and protect our borders against illegal immigration," Chertoff said.
Ken Salazar, Democratic senator from Colorado, used the occasion to demand comprehensive immigration reform. While those involved in identity theft should be caught and punished, he said, the "ripple effect" of the raids "calls attention to the human side of the enforcement of our immigration laws and the impact it has on our local communities and businesses."
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