He, and his police officer daughter.
Posted on 06/13/2007 6:08:56 PM PDT by dixiechick2000
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Federal agents on Tuesday raided the offices of a Portland food processing plant suspected of employing hundreds of illegal workers who used Social Security numbers that belonged to other people or were made up.
More than 165 workers were detained to be processed for possible deportation, officials said, and three people were indicted on immigration, illegal documents and identity theft charges.
Portland Mayor Tom Potter criticized the raids. The three arrests were understandable, he said, but "to go after local workers who are here to support their families while filling the demands of local businesses for their labor is bad policy."
According to an affidavit filed by Maximillian Trimm, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, only 48 of nearly 600 employees at the Fresh Del Monte Produce fruit and vegetable processing plant had valid Social Security numbers.
An official at Fresh Del Monte Produce Co. headquarters in Coral Gables, Fla., said the company could not comment until federal investigators provide it with more information.
The three indicted were Jose de Jesus Zarazua-Lopez, accused of re-entering the United States illegally after being convicted of heroin charges and deported to Mexico; Jose Dejesus Buenrostro, accused of encouraging an illegal immigrant; and Margarita Amezcua-Salvador, accused of possessing counterfeit alien registration documents, identity theft, selling a Social Security card, and encouraging an illegal immigrant.
The raid at American Staffing Resources Inc. offices at the plant at 9243 N. Rivergate Boulevard was based on an investigation by ICE and the Social Security Administration that began in January, officials said.
Separate American Staffing offices also were searched at 8926 N. Lombard St., along with a Fresh Del Monte office, officials said.
A federal judge authorized agents to search for evidence of violations such as hiring illegal aliens, identity theft and Social Security fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland.
Federal prosecutors said that 20 of the Social Security numbers being misused belonged to people older than 60, and that 29 belonged to dead people.
CAUSA Oregon, an immigration rights group, called the raids inhumane.
"The Del Monte workers and their families are an integral part of the Oregon community and economy, and our immigration policy must reflect this reality," the group said in a statement.
Potter spokesman John Doussard said the city's Police Bureau had been given a heads-up about the raids but did not participate. Potter said in a statement that a city crisis response team would help the families of the workers.
Potter has been at odds with federal security officials before. In 2005, he and other City Council members voted to remove Portland police from a terrorism task force because the FBI refused to give him the security clearance he said he needed for full oversight of city officers.
Doussard said Potter's criticism Tuesday wasn't related to the 2005 decision.
Authorities created a 24-hour toll-free hotline for family members of unauthorized workers who were arrested in Tuesday's operations. Operators can answer questions about detention status and the removal process. The number is (866) 341-3858.
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070612portland.htm
Indictments and search warrants target criminal violations by staffing firm for Portland fruit and vegetable processing plant
Portland, Ore. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents executed arrest warrants and search warrants this morning at three Portland locations as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged criminal violations by employees of a national staffing firm that recruits and hires workers for the fruit and vegetable processing plant operated by Fresh Del Monte Produce in Portland.
As part of the criminal investigation, a federal grand jury in Portland has returned indictments against three individuals alleging immigration, document fraud, and identity theft offenses. The names of the defendants are not being released pending their arrests.
The searches occurred at two local offices of American Staffing Resources, Inc., one at 8926 North Lombard Street and one located inside of the Fresh Del Monte plant at 9243 North Rivergate Boulevard in Portland. A separate search warrant also was executed at the Fresh Del Monte office within the plant.
The search warrants were authorized by a U.S. Magistrate Judge following presentation of a sworn affidavit by an ICE special agent. That affidavit details the investigation which led to today’s searches. It states that a joint investigation conducted by ICE and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, determined the following:
* The production workers at Fresh Del Monte are actually employees of American Staffing Resources, Inc.
* The premises of the businesses would contain evidence of the production and distribution of forged documents and of the employment of illegal aliens.
* More than 90 percent of American Staffing’s employees were using Social Security numbers that belonged to other persons or were made up.
* Some of the individuals using those Social Security numbers apparently have criminal records, have previously been deported, or are wanted on warrants of deportation.
* The misuse of a person’s Social Security number can result in the true owner of that number having benefits reduced, suspended, or terminated. Among the individuals whose Social Security numbers are being misused are:
* 7 persons who are 60 or above and are receiving disability benefits;
* 13 persons who are more than 70 years old;
* 18 juveniles;
* 29 deceased persons.
According to the affidavit, beginning in approximately January 2007, ICE conducted an undercover operation at American Staffing Resources, Inc. and Del Monte. During the course of that operation, the undercover informant openly discussed with managers at both Del Monte and American Staffing Resources, Inc. that he was not legally in the United States and did not have the proper identification to work. An employee of American Staffing Resources, Inc. provided him with a counterfeit Social Security card, and later provided him with counterfeit Social Security cards and counterfeit Resident Alien cards for others.
Based on this affidavit, the Magistrate Judge authorized ICE and Social Security agents to search for evidence of the following federal crimes - hiring illegal aliens; harboring illegal aliens; encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States; identity theft; immigration document fraud; and Social Security fraud. The United States Attorney’s Office will make no further comment regarding the ongoing criminal investigation at this time.
In a separate, simultaneous action, ICE also obtained court authorization to search the Del Monte premises for illegal aliens. Any unauthorized workers will be interviewed in Portland by ICE staff and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Immigration Health Services (HHS/DIHS) to record any medical, sole-caregiver, or other humanitarian situations. Each worker will also be medically screened by HHS/DIHS to determine any urgent medical needs. This will assist ICE in making a determination whether to detain the worker or permit a humanitarian release.
The workers taken into custody will be transported to the closest ICE processing facility located in Tukwila, Washington. Once the processing is completed, removal proceedings will be initiated and the workers held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., pending an appearance before an immigration judge.
“Today’s enforcement action is part of ICE’s continued efforts to investigate employers who facilitate the hiring of undocumented workers,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Seattle. “No employer, regardless of industry or location is immune from complying with the nation’s laws.”
A 24-hour toll-free hotline exclusively for family members of the unauthorized workers who were arrested in today’s operation is available to respond to questions about detention status and the removal process. The toll-free phone number is: 866-341-3858.
More like -
165 down.
19,999,835 to go.....
Real immigrants don’t need amnesty.......BTW saw this on different FR thread today so I am posting it again......
Illegal Alien’s Poem
I visit US, get treated regal,
So I stay, who care I illegal?
I cross ocean, poor and broke,
Take bus, see employment folk.
Nice man treat me good in there,
Say I need to see welfare.
Welfare say, “You come no more,
We send cash right to your door.”
Welfare checks, they make you wealthy,
Medicaid, it keep you healthy!
I go to college, for me it’s free,
and now I have a Ph.D.
By and by, I got plenty money,
Thanks to you, American dummy.
Write to friends in motherland,
Tell them come as fast as you can.
They come in turbans and Ford trucks,
I buy big house with welfare bucks.
They come here, we live together,
More welfare checks, it gets better!
Fourteen families they moving in,
But neighbor’s patience wearing thin.
Finally, white guy moves away,
Now I buy his house, and then I say,
“Find more aliens for house to rent.”
And in the yard I put a tent.
Send for family (they just trash),
But they, too, draw the welfare cash!
Everything is very good,
And soon we own the neighborhood.
We have hobby— it’s called breeding,
Welfare pay for baby feeding.
Kids need dentist? Wife need pills?
We get free! We got no bills!
American crazy! He pay all year,
To keep welfare running here.
We think America darn good place!
Too darn good for the white man race.
If they no like us, they can scram,
Got lots of room in Pakistan.
LOL!
Thank you for your post!
My suspicious mind. I can’t help thinking that these are token raids, ordered because the amnesty bill got stalled and because conservatives have been complaining that nothing was being done on the illegal front.
We need to do this on a full scale all over the country. The point is that employers of illegals should see it happening often enough so they would actually worry that they might be next. If the law is seen to be regularly enforced, then after a while it won’t be necessary to have so many raids, because employers will become reluctant to risk getting caught and punished.
I hadn’t seen that before.
It’s a good poem...but it’s dang aggravating.
You aren’t the only one with a suspicious mind.
I surely do hope we are wrong, though.
I totally agree with the rest of your post, too.
I want to see the illegals self-deport.
He, and his police officer daughter.
As usual, everything after "but" is B.S.
“Authorities created a 24-hour toll-free hotline for family members of unauthorized workers who were arrested in Tuesday’s operations. Operators can answer questions about detention status and the removal process. The number is (866) 341-3858.”
How about the ‘authorities’ providing an 800 line for tips on immigration law violations?
My guess would be it has to do with the number of shift workers available, whereas just under 600 workers has to do with all enrolled workers.
Remember, they are doing jobs that Americans won’t do. And for less money too.Snicker, Snicker. Send them all home.
Ping!
Oh...yeah...like THAT will happen. ;o)
Ironic, isn’t it...
Agreed!
Guess I could call the toll free number, and see how many Swedes are being detained.. could be one of my ancestors..
How many AMERICANS were lined up the next day to fill out applications?
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