Posted on 12/12/2006 7:45:53 PM PST by Kaslin
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) - Federal agents raided meat processing plants in six states Tuesday and arrested an unknown number of suspected illegal immigrants in an identity theft investigation, temporarily suspending operations at all six plants.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the workers were being arrested on administrative immigration violations and, in some cases, criminal arrest warrants stemming from a nearly yearlong investigation.
ICE chief Julie L. Myers told reporters in Washington that agents had uncovered a scheme in which illegal immigrants and others had stolen or bought the identities and Social Security numbers of possibly hundreds of U.S. citizens and lawful residents to get jobs with Greeley-based meat processor Swift & Co.
Six Swift processing facilities were raided Tuesday, in Greeley; Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minn., representing all of Swift's domestic beef processing capacity and 77 percent of its pork processing capacity.
No charges had been filed against the company.
"Swift has never condoned the employment of unauthorized workers, nor have we ever knowingly hired such individuals," Swift & Co. President and CEO Sam Rovit said in a statement.
Since 1997, Swift has been using a government pilot program to confirms whether Social Security numbers are valid. Company officials have previously said one shortcoming may be the program's inability to detect when two people are using the same number.
Hundreds of workers' family members gathered outside the plants, with some trying to deliver documentation to relatives inside. In Greeley, cars lined the street leading to the plant.
One sheriff's deputy described the scene outside the Utah plant as a circus.
"They've got three buses, a bunch of transport vans, a lot of cars and 150 or so agents," chief Cache County deputy David Bennett said.
Bennett said ICE officials didn't notify the sheriff's department about the raid. "They didn't ask for our help," he said. "We were lucky to find out."
At Grand Island, Police Chief Steve Lamken said he refused to let his officers take part in the raid.
"When this is all over, we're still here taking care of our community and if I have a significant part of my population that's fearful and won't call us then that's not good for our community," he said.
Swift & Co. describes itself as an $8 billion business and the world's second-largest meat processing company. The Hyrum plant can process up to 2,200 cattle a day, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Hyrum city Administrator Brent Jensen says that plant employs more than 1,000 people.
In Washington, Myers said ICE had uncovered several different rings that may have provided illegal documents to the workers. Some immigrants had genuine U.S. birth certificates, Myers said.
ICE officials at the plants in Greeley and Worthington said the total number of arrests might not be released until Wednesday.
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Associated Press Writers Jennifer Talhelm in Washington, Paul Foy in Salt Lake City and Oskar Garcia in Omaha, Neb., contributed to this report.
Inability or unwillingness ???
One of the reasons I think the FEDS don't do this as often as they could is because it helps keep the Social Security Ponzi Scheme afloat.
It would be nICE if ICE went after ALL the Violent Gang Member Illegal Immigrants First...p>
HAHAHAHA Swift never condoned the hiring...
but we admit it a little peculiar that not one of our employees speaks any recognizable language, while willingly works for 2 bucks a day and on payday makes a beeline to the bus station for a ticket to all points south
----honesty in corporate America alert----
["Swift has never condoned the employment of unauthorized workers, nor have we ever knowingly hired such individuals," Swift & Co. President and CEO Sam Rovit said in a statement.]
Yeah right, Sam. Ignorance is not much of a defense.
6 Plants?
Which one is CEO Sam Rovit and why isn't he wearing hand-cuffs?
>>because it helps keep the Social Security Ponzi Scheme afloat
That's only going to work (if at all) until the demographics shift and the immigrants can vote to not pay for the gringo's retirements.
"When this is all over, we're still here taking care of our community and if I have a significant part of my population that's fearful and won't call us then that's not good for our community," he said.
Does this PC idiot think the massive lawlessness this invasion of illegas brings to his town is "good for the community?"
There-in lies the problem.
Local police are protecting the illegals. Probably because of some quid pro quo with the meat packing business owners.
I heard a report on Fox this morning that the Swift company was following all of the guidelines the US government set on them after a fine a few years ago, including researching provided documentation.
And I heard (third hand) that if an illegal is using your ID, that it cannot be reported to you if found out. Really sucky government bureaucracy.
The unions wrecked the meatpacking industry, and now our love of cheap ground beef had led to illegals working here.
Bullsh!t.
That doesn't even begin to pass the smell test.
Book 'em, Danno!
These were good, high paying jobs occupied by Americans at one time. A guy could raise a family on one of these jobs.
With a border that was protected, albeit somewhat more that it is now all these other layers of employees would not be needed and the taxes usurped to support them.
But hey, unions are good for illegals, cops, politicians, but bad for national security and taxpayers.
elp for those affected by raid
update: Fuerza Latina has a help line available to families left behind in the ICE raid. The group has bilingual volunteers that will help locate family members and get info about bonds, attorneys, etc. It will also collect info about handling of the raid. Contact Fuerza Latina at (970) 472-1501. Callers should leave a message and volunteer will return their call.
Nice....let's DEFINITELY allow the prince in the beige jacket stay!
Make that on the gubmint side and not the illegals side. I attempted to articulate and failed to point out that if the job of border security was done correctly in the first place we wouldn't need a 2nd tier to fix it, with more gubmint employees, unions, yadda yadda.
"The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican 'wetbacks' to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."
- paraphrased from a report in The New York Times by General Dwight D. Eisenhower prior to his Presidency
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