Posted on 07/30/2006 9:16:21 PM PDT by neverdem
CINCINNATI, July 30 — Immigration agents had prepared a nasty surprise for the Garcia Labor Company, a temporary worker contractor, when they moved against it on charges of hiring illegal immigrants. They brought a 40-count federal indictment, part of a new nationwide strategy by immigration officials to clamp down on employers of illegal immigrant laborers.
Maximino Garcia, the president of the company, which provides low-wage laborers to businesses from Pennsylvania to Texas, stood before a federal judge here on Tuesday to answer conspiracy charges of aiding illegal immigrants and money laundering. If convicted, Mr. Garcia, who pleaded not guilty, could serve 20 years in jail and forfeit his headquarters building and $12 million.
The criminal charges against Mr. Garcia and his company were brought by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security. The campaign has included at least five other federal indictments of business executives in Ohio and Kentucky and has sent payroll managers rushing to re-examine their workers’ papers and rethink plans for their work force.
It also created a new environment of fear in Ohio’s immigrant communities.
“It’s a very uneasy feeling,” said Sister Teresa Ann Wolf, a Roman Catholic nun who works with immigrant workers in Canton, Ohio. “People are afraid to leave the house to go to the store. They are afraid to come to church.”
Until recently, the worst that Mr. Garcia, 43, might have expected from the immigration authorities was a civil fine and the deportation of some illegal workers. In April, with President Bush under fire from both Democrats and Republicans who accused him of being lax on employers of illegal immigrants, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the new campaign. It focuses on those suspected of violations with felony charges that could lead to huge financial...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You can always grow your own. Or, do you prefer having a servant class available to do that for you?
Who says you can't get US citizens to pick it?
Yes, but it is their job, as it is the job of every law-abiding individual in the country, to comply with the law, or work to change it.
That's the point here - this guy who's facing charges is accused of knowingly and willfully violating the law.
BEI's top quality and performance is backed by more than 30 years in the soft fruit harvesting industry.
Combine that with these fast, efficient harvesting machines and get maximum yields. All three models mechanically harvest the fruit laden vines, clean and remove any picking debris and convey the grapes into bulk containers in the adjacent row. One man to run the harvester. That's Efficient Performance!
I think that a lot of people are willing to pick strawberries -- it's a popular pick-it-yourself/you-pick-it crop. Here's a story from the News Examiner in Tennessee about pick-it-yourself/you-pick-it strawberry operations:
It’s strawberry time in Sumner County
BY CANESHA GORDON
THE NEWS EXAMINERPortland has been known for years as the strawberry capital of Middle Tennessee and thanks to the many strawberry growers the tradition continues.
Bradley Kountry Acres owned by Mike and Kathy Bradley have been in business for 10 years.
“We set our first strawberries in the spring of 1996,” said Mike Bradley.
Berries are set a year in advance, Kathy Bradley said.
The Bradley’s have five acres of berries each year.
The offer pick your own and already picked.
If you pick the berries yourself, they will cost you $1.65 a pound. If the farm picks them for you, the cost is $2.50 a quart.
In addition to strawberries, Bradley’s also offers tomatoes
“We have an early crop and late crop of tomatoes,” Kathy Bradley said.
They also have peaches, blackberries, pumpkins, gourds, mums and pansies.
“We also try to raise watermelon,” she said.
“We open in the middle of April and close the very first of November,” Kathy Bradley said.
During strawberry season the farm is open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and on Sunday’s from 1-5 p.m.
“After strawberry season people should call for hours,” she said.
Crafton Farms owned by Johnny Crafton has been in business for about four years.
“My family grew strawberries, my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father. They grew them until me and my brother got too old and didn’t want to pick them anymore,” Crafton said.
“I started back about four years ago, it actually started by accident. I planted sweet corn and the kids sold it, and I thought why not try strawberries.”
“The way I do it is I set a new patch this March and they will be picked in May,” he said.
“We have four acres of strawberries,” Crafton said.
“Last year we picked in May and went to June and this year Saturday May 6 was their first day picking,” Crafton said.
Crafton Farms also has sweet corn that doesn’t come in until July, and they have tomatoes.
They are usually open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until dark.
Louise Eden has been growing strawberries for 36 years.
“We (Eden and her husband) bought the farm in 1962, and we just decided we wanted to grow strawberries,” Eden said.
“We had just set our first crop and my husband got killed, and I learned I could do it and still be at home with my kids,” she said.
Eden, 83, said she used to have five to six acres of berries but she said now that she has gotten older she only has one acre.
“I grow a variety, I grow an early glow berry, and it’s the best one I’ve ever grown,” Eden said.
Eden charges a $1.50 a quart if you pick your own and $2.50 if they pick them.
Eden sets her berries in the spring in April and then the following spring in May she picks them.
“I also grow vegetables, tomatoes, corn, beans, peppers, squash etc. in the summer,” said Eden.
Wayne England Strawberry Farm has been in business since 1976.
“We set eight acres of berries in 1975,” said England.
England has grown the same variety since 1976, which is called early glow.
“I have about one acre and a half of berries,” said England.
England strictly grows strawberries.
“We get about three good weeks of strawberries, then we close down to next year,” said England.
At England’s farm if you pick your own berries, it is $2 a quart and if they pick them, it is $2.50 a quart.
Doug Williams Farm has been in business 61 years.
“I was 20 when I started growing strawberries,” Williams said.
Williams has six acres of berries on his farm.
“I set them the last weeks in March or first weeks in April and then pick them the next year in May,” said Williams.
At Williams Farm if you pick them yourself, it is $1.25 a quart and if they pick them, it is $1.75 a quart and for $13 you can get an 8-quart slab already picked.
“I also sell my berries to wholesalers, people who buy my berries and re-sell them, but I charge the same price to the guy who wholesales them or the guy that puts them in the freezer,” said Williams.
In addition to strawberries Williams grows lots of and raises cattle.
For that matter, such businesses thrive even in Japan --- it's been a while since I went to one, but when I did, the owner actually charge the pickers a premium based on their expected consumption of strawberries during harvesting (all of the stands charged between $10 and $15 just to enter) and the prices for you to carry away a basket of strawberries were not much different than if you went to the grocery store.
Here in the U.S., I haven't seen entry fees, and usually the price for the strawberries picked are better than supermarket prices, as you can see from the referenced article.
Yep, aka "the bottom line", "supply & demand". If the Feds had been on this all along, there would not be the border problem that there is.
AAAWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! BOOOHOOOO!!
If the law says it's their job, then it's their job. And in this case, it should be.
Yes. And, in fact, if I ever hire a yard crew to take care of my yard instead of doing it myself, I plan to do EXACTLY that.
If they weren't breaking the law, they would have nothing to fear. Maybe their fear will send them HOME.
Sounds like this is a case of the "law of Intended Consequences."
But we are all part of a society of laws. If someone gets their purse snatched in front of you, or worse, gets assaulted, are you saying you would just call 911 and say "not going to get involved -- this is Gummit work"?
"Let's go after the employers, so then all the illegals can go on welfare instead, nobody checks their status when they are applying for that."
With the construction sector definitely cooling off, we will see a lot of unemployed illegals. I can't believe states will be shelling out welfare to unemployed illegals because our traditional freeloaders will start screaming if their freebies are cut to accommodate the illegals. And don't forget, the freeloaders are a big voting block.
I agree
Thank you for keeping the focus on "illegal."
The illegals and the MSM keep dropping that reference out of every argument!
Dita, thought you'd love to read some of these arguments.
I doubt they are that serious. Prosecutions are way down from the already pathetic rate of the Clinton rate. I think the White House wants a few high profile busts before the elections. Then it'll cool down again. Bush isn't serious about the problem.
"I was being sarcastic -- my point was that the government should enforce the laws, instead of expecting private business or citizens to do it for them.
The Federal government should work on securing the borders -- if illegals can't come in, you don't have to worry about them being hired. Also, the worst problem are not those who are working, but those who are getting welfare, so why don't they go after those? Last I heard, at the welfare office its illegal to inquire about someone's citizenship status."
Unless the demand for illegals is reduced the effort to stop them crossing the border will be just like the war on drugs...ineffective.
"Sister"..., the "People" aren't afraid..., illegal aliens are! The Churches have long aided and abetted illegal immigration!
I'm not surprised. My husband works in residential home construction, he was warned by a legal Mexican years ago that the industry would be flooded. My husband says the work they do is terribly sloppy. He spends more time cleaning up after their mistakes. Homebuilding has become turn and burn, quantity over quality. When you hire Jose and you ask for documents and he shows you a SS card and birth certificate but cannot even say "Hello,my name is Jose" in english, that doesn't raise a red flag? The employers don't care, they can say he showed me the proper paperwork. In the meantime, he knows that the illegal will do whatever he says, he won't sue, he won't collect unemployment, if he gets hurt he won't try and collect workman's comp and if he gets fired he won't ask any questions. He gets the worker but really has no responsibility to him.
It's because they've all moved on to construction.
I guess we can have guest workers move on to what's left of the steel industry and then the rest of the trades. Just to make sure we still have access to those goods and services at a good price of course.
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