The bust of illegal aliens in Iowa.
Just read a disturbing account of the bust of 390 illegals at that huge meat processing plant in Iowa today in The Progressive. They were all charged with "Social Security fraud" and "aggravated identity theft". The article was written by a federal interpreter and he painted a pretty bleak picture.
Hardly any of those arrested even knew what a Social Security card or number is. All of their paperwork was filled out for them by the people at Agriprocessors, Inc. - which happens to be the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant.
Hmmm, how can we bust the poor schmucks working there and ignore the crimes committed by the people who own and operate the plant? I can remember when Cathy Lee Gifford was crucified in the press because her clothing line was made in some 3rd world countries in less than ideal conditions.
Where is the hue and cry against Agriprocessors? Do you think it was just an accident that they happened to hire hundreds of undocumented workers who don't speak English?
The illegals were given the option of pleading guilty to the lesser charge of social security fraud and taking a minimum of 6 months in jail. If they plead not guilty, then they would not only end up spending much more time than that in the slammer, they might end up with a minimum of 2 years incarceration if they were found guilty on the more serious charge.
What a farce. How on earth could someone who does not speak English possibly pull off the theft of an identity? And to what end? The only thing these people wanted was a job - one guy WALKED to the US from Guatemala. He walked for a month and ten days just to get to the border.
Don't get me wrong - I think anyone who wants to get into America should follow the proper procedure. My grandparents came over on the boat from Yugoslavia, so I have nothing against immigrants, but they need to play by the rules.
That being said, it is a travesty to punish those on the bottom rung, when it appears that the real criminals are the ones who staff the plant. [EDIT - it appears that 3-4 of them are getting punished as well - see below.]
Hardly any of those arrested even knew what a Social Security card or number is. All of their paperwork was filled out for them by the people at Agriprocessors, Inc. - which happens to be the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant.
Hmmm, how can we bust the poor schmucks working there and ignore the crimes committed by the people who own and operate the plant? I can remember when Cathy Lee Gifford was crucified in the press because her clothing line was made in some 3rd world countries in less than ideal conditions.
Where is the hue and cry against Agriprocessors? Do you think it was just an accident that they happened to hire hundreds of undocumented workers who don't speak English?
The illegals were given the option of pleading guilty to the lesser charge of social security fraud and taking a minimum of 6 months in jail. If they plead not guilty, then they would not only end up spending much more time than that in the slammer, they might end up with a minimum of 2 years incarceration if they were found guilty on the more serious charge.
What a farce. How on earth could someone who does not speak English possibly pull off the theft of an identity? And to what end? The only thing these people wanted was a job - one guy WALKED to the US from Guatemala. He walked for a month and ten days just to get to the border.
Don't get me wrong - I think anyone who wants to get into America should follow the proper procedure. My grandparents came over on the boat from Yugoslavia, so I have nothing against immigrants, but they need to play by the rules.
That being said, it is a travesty to punish those on the bottom rung, when it appears that the real criminals are the ones who staff the plant. [EDIT - it appears that 3-4 of them are getting punished as well - see below.]
Comments
Second, the owner, former CEO and three senior HR executives at Agriprocessors were all arrested and charged with both state and federal offenses. One of the HR executives has already pleaded guilty (my guess is that she got a plea deal to roll on the others). They are hardly letting senior management off the hook.
Perhaps you ought to confine your blog postings to things you know something about.
"Since the May 12 immigration raid Agriprocessors has:
* been fined $47,750 by the Iowa Division of Labor Services for numerous health and safety violations.
* had two middle-management supervisors arrested by federal authorities (both later pleaded guilty) for encouraging illegal immigration.
* hired a high-profile, New York-based public relations firm that was caught impersonating members of the Jewish community.
* been the subject of an informal hearing by members of the U.S. Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
* said tentative relationship with Jewish labor force is “off limits.”
* been cited by the Iowa Division of Labor Services for 31 new and repeat safety violations.
* come under additional scrutiny for treatment of livestock.
* been charged by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office with more than 9,000 violations of state child labor laws.
* had two human resources employees arrested by federal authorities on immigration-related criminal charges. (One has pleaded guilty while the other awaits trial.)
* has been assessed nearly $10 million in civil penalties by the state of Iowa for wage law violations."
The article also mentions that the former executive officer has been arrested and is facing a host of charges.
That being said, it is still wrong to assume that "they knew full well they were committing identity fraud" - these people do not even comprehend what identitty fraud is. Many of the workers are illiterate.
One of the US District judges on the case said,"You know, I don't agree with any of this or with the way it is being done. In fact, I ruled on a previous case that to charge someone with identity theft, the person had to at least know of the real owner of the Social Security number."
As I mentioned, people who want to come to this country should do so in a legal manner, but when Americans are facilitating the whole process, they need to be spanked as well. It appears that a couple of people at Agriprocessors are in big trouble. That is good to know.
They just come up here to work and send money back to their family. I don't think they set out to steal anyone's identity.
People who sneak into this country by paying a coyote thousands of dollars to smuggle them across the border understand that they're breaking the law.
They understand that when someone tells them they need papers to work and makes them pay cash money to get those papers, the papers they're getting are not authentic documents issued by the US government.
so what if the specific thing they were charged with was "identity theft"? They're not being thrown in jail for it -- they're just being deported -- which is indeed what should happen to them for entering the country and working illegally.
Don't get me wrong... I think our immigration system is entirely broken and needs to be overhauled, and I think that these people should be able to come into our country and work legally. But right now, they can't, and they're breaking the law by coming here and working, and they know it, and if they get caught they should be deported, and they know that too.