Meat plant workers sue Homeland Security Department over raids

DallasMorningNews.com ^ | 09/13/2007 | DIANNE SOLÍS

[devane617]

Workers at Swift & Co. plants have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, charging that their rights were violated during massive nationwide raids last December and seeking an end to such actions. The suit, filed in federal court in Amarillo by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, seeks to prevent federal immigration agents from conducting mass detentions of all workers in what's commonly known as a worksite raid, or redada.

[devane617]

Exerted from DMN.

[devane617]

Wonder how the Federal courts will handle this? No, don’t tell me...Let me guess...Several years of legal procedures to figure this out...in the mean time, no more raids or deportations.

[Adder]

What the heck is a redada?

Why is it being used?

[CDHart]

bttt

[AmericanInTokyo]

Holy crap what is this country coming to? Do they want a massive American backlash THAT bad? are they ever going to get a black eye for kicking sand in our faces one too many times.

Sheer nerve.

Entitlement beyond belief.

Audacity.

Shameless.

[doodad]

charging that their rights were violated

What rights? Unwarranted search and seizure; is that what they are hanging this on? Not even their property.

[AmericanInTokyo]

They are trying to destroy our Country which would include our very Constitution, and they think they can use the Constitution to do it and get away with it.

[Ken522]

... lawyers ...

[CaliGirl-R]

What about the rights of the people that had their identities stolen? I thought I read that there were many employees that stole identities.

[Larry Lucido]

suit, filed in federal court in Amarillo by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union

The title is wrong. "Workers" didn't file a suit, some union officials and lawyers did. It's been a long, long time since union = workers.

[doodad]

I noted in the article that ICE had warrants. If they have to review everyone to weed out the illegals, how is that a violation of anyone’s “rights?”

Go figure, any other time they are probably trying to figure out a way NOT to work.

[Abathar]

I wonder if the management at Swift and Co. are pushing its employees to do this as well? Last time I looked the police could hold you at a location where a crime was being committed until everything was sorted out. Since they were being paid to be at work anyway I really can’t see where they would have a leg to stand on here, but if they wangle a Clinton appointed judge they will probably see things differently I guess.

[Copernicus]

The principle- innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent is an important one, whether it is a Click-it and Ticket-it checkpoint or a drug raid or even an "casual roadside conversation" with a traffic officer.

There are many ways to catch the bad guys.

Slapping everyone who is not guilty (under the CONSTITUTION) is not the best approach.

Best regards,

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

>>What the heck is a redada?<<

bust
raid
roundup
sweep

[ishabibble]

The same thing happened in New Bedford MA after the raid on the factory there. I tried to get a link from Google, Commies that they are, but every link for three pages was total Leftie BS.

[Grut]

The union may have a point: a sweep like this isn’t much different from arresting everybody on a particular street on the grounds that some of them are likely to be illegals.

The government’s best defense will depend on how quickly the real American citizens were released. If they were held beyond a reasonable amount of time to determine they weren’t illegals then the ICE probably was abusing its authority.

Even then, it smacks of “papers, please!”

[Haddit]

Cal State University Northridge Mural

http://www.saveourstate.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t1674.html

[em2vn]

Dear United Food and Commercial Workers Union;
Get F*&^%$.

Sicerely
A retired union member but an American first.

[SamuraiScot]

arrested 20 more people. Among them were a human resources manager and a union representative

There's what prompted the lawsuit. The union has been pumping its numbers (and dues) with illegals, so these raids are muy bad for business. Hence, they're trying to eliminate enforcement of U.S. immigration law.

Since the union is obviously involved in the recruiting of illegals at the highest levels (hence the lawsuit), the Feds should go after the union under RICO. I don't say that lightly, but it's a racket that involves mail fraud, wire fraud, possibly forgery and bribery, cospiracy to commit all the above, and for good measure, obstruction of government administration.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Among them were a human resources manager and a union representative on charges of recruiting and harboring illegal immigrants. The latter two cases are pending. In July, Brazilian firm JBS S.A. acquired Swift in a cash-and-debt deal worth $1.5 billion.

Looks like the Union is doing a CYA.

Who knew Swift was owned by Brazilians.