Posted on 08/23/2009 7:51:15 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
NORTH ROSE — The Wayne County Farm Bureau wants the federal government to investigate local Border Patrol activities after Monday’s detention of four migrant farm workers.
The men were stopped while driving on Route 414. According to the Farm Bureau, there were no issues when their vehicle was checked, and none had outstanding warrants.
Farm Bureau President Phil Wagner called the incident “a clear case of racial profiling.”
But A.J. Price, a public affairs officer with the Border Patrol’s Buffalo district headquarters, said officers approached the men because they were blocking the intersection of Routes 104 and 414. Wagner disputed that: He said he was at the scene and that it was three miles south of the intersection.
A Farm Bureau press release said a Border Patrol agent told the men’s employer that they were stopped because they “looked suspicious at us.”
The four Mexican workers — Roman Diaz, Quirino Diaz, Jose Austudillo and Saul Caraillo — had worked for Wolcott farmer Brian Doyle for several years. Doyle said they all had legitimate paperwork and Social Security numbers.
But Price said the men admitted being in the country illegally during the Border Patrol stop. Records at the Border Patrol station in Oswego confirmed that, he said.
“I can’t say that the farmer is not telling the truth by his perspective,” Price said. “Yes, he may have run a Social Security number, but that doesn’t necessarily belong to the person with the card.”
Price said Border Patrol officers also noticed that the men’s vehicle had out-of-state plates, which he says are prevalent among illegal immigrants. But Wagner pointed out that it’s not illegal to have out-of-state plates.
“There’s a lot of Florida plates and Oklahoma plates and Ontario plates that go around Wayne County. That’s not a crime,” Wagner said.
Price said the Border Patrol doesn’t racially profile. He said it targets everyone from migrant workers to European college students.
The Farm Bureau is concerned over what it calls an “an escalation of Homeland Security enforcement activities in the county during the past two years.”
Price said Wayne County has not been specifically targeted, but there have been more Border Patrol officers in the county over the last two years because of staff additions.
“We’ve had discussions with this Farm Bureau in the past, and I’m part of the management team for the Buffalo sector. We do not tolerate unprofessional or rude behavior by our agents to the public,” Price said. “If they have any reason to believe that, then they should make a complaint to us.
“We have yet to have a formal complaint filed against any of our agents with anyone involved in any of these incidents. I don’t know what that means to you. To me, it means that maybe the credibility of these allegations isn’t completely valid,” Price said.
Wagner had a different take.
“It’s scary,” he said in response to the Border Patrol’s account. “Our public officials are trying to discredit Americans from telling the truth. ... Something’s wrong with our system.”
The four men are being held at the Batavia detention center, he said.
Is that not the Border Patrol's job?
Just like our Glorious Leader's relatives.
While I admire and believe member -owned and operated co-operatives can be a very good thing, all too often they end up with "professional" drones and their cronies in charge.The local Farm Bureau here was the first of three feed stores to shutdown decades ago while the privately owned mills continued.It is much harder to get rid of bad employees and managers often lose sight of the goal:goods and services as good as any competition while saving co-op members money.
this gey Wagner sounds to me like a loud-mouthed bigot. He should stick to his plants and vegetables and leave the Law Enforcement to others. He’s just another politically correct cheerleader of sorts, pom-poms and all.
Exploiting cheap labor is correct. Precisely IMO the typical Leftist mentality of subjugation. Theirs I believe is a Master and Slave perspective.
Most importantly IMO our Border laws protect our sovereignty. I see these sorts demanding we not enforce our laws as enemies of our Nation.
The Wayne Farm Bureau in the name of cheap labor is placing selfish interests over our Nations sovereignty.
Interesting and very close to home.
My neighbor is an apple grower and I would say a patriotic citizen. But I believe they also turn a blind eye to the illegal Mexican farm workers that pick their apple crop every year.
Up through the 70’s it was black migrant workers that picked the apples now it is Mexicans. How many are illegal I do not know. But if immigration was serious all they would need to do would be to check every large grower and verify the SSNs provided.
Imagine that, a paid mouth piece for the OBL lobby (farm bureau in this case) bitchin’ because the USBP is actually doing what the citizens of this nation hired them to do. Cry me a river you pathetic piece of crap.....
With the required connection to modern day Chamber of Commerce
People like Wagner and others who support illegal alienism should be busted on RICO and human trafficking laws. They are the people who bring in illegal aliens, at the expense of American workers and American taxpayers.
“Price said Border Patrol officers also noticed that the men’s vehicle had out-of-state plates, which he says are prevalent among illegal immigrants. But Wagner pointed out that it’s not illegal to have out-of-state plates.”
This is the kind of crap that makes my blood boil. The fact ALONE that they are here illegally should be sufficient for arrest and deportation. AND, in addition to the traffic violation they’re being cited for, is it NOT a crime to operate a motor vehicle without a license and insurance or with a license that has been obtained fraudulently? Let’s get real here....how many laws do THEY have to break before THEY are considered illegal alien “criminals”? Exactly what would happen and how would an AMERICAN CITIZEN be treated/penalized in the same situation?
Farm Bureau in Tennessee ain’t nothing like that Yankee version.
they do a great service on insurance
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