Thread: Del Monte Raid In Portland Oregon- Mayor Potter against it

Well Mr. Potter, you are just of many politicians who are making Americans Not Live In A Wonderful Life.


If this guy is so compassionate.....why doesn't he shared his Social Security number for the poor helpless souls. It would be selfish for him not to. That also includes the politicians.

i called the above number and left a message.

i said you best start worrying about real Americans, ya know the ones who voted your sorry a$$ into office.
and asked him what about the americans IDs who were stolen and being used. you better worry and care about them too, lame brain

This is a little old, but it will give you an idea of the difficulties people who have their social security numbers stolen go through:

The Secret Life Of Your Social Security Number
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By Aleksandra Todorova
July 8, 2004

JANET LEE, a 54-year-old homemaker living in Weber County, Utah, owns one house. Imagine her shock when she was told last May that her Social Security number had been used to buy two other houses in Ohio and one in Texas that carried a second mortgage, to boot. Combined, the four mortgages totaled more than $500,000.

Then there were the nine car loans totaling more than $200,000. And 10 additional credit lines from various department stores and wireless service providers.


An investigation by the Social Security Administration in Utah, first reported by the Salt Lake City Tribune last month in connection with a mortgage fraud scam, revealed that an illegal immigrant was using Lee's Social Security number as a means to enjoy his slice of the American dream. And like most folks in this country, he was using credit to do it.

There are an estimated nine million illegal aliens living in the U.S., according to Census Bureau statistics. In order to work and obtain credit, they need Social Security numbers — something they cannot obtain legitimately because of their illegal immigrant status. But a fake number isn't hard to get. "There's a very good black market that has fostered this," says Richard Hamp, Utah Assistant Attorney General. "You can buy a Social Security card on the street for $20."

Fake cards are produced and sold by organized crime groups, which generate Social Security numbers and sell them to illegal immigrants with their own names on the card. Right now, for example, Utah authorities are investigating a company that offers commercial and mortgage loans, health insurance and debt consolidation, which is distributing advertising that reads "If you don't have a Social Security number, you also qualify." According to Ron Ingleby, resident agent in charge of Utah, Montana and Wyoming for the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General, the company allegedly supplies the immigrants with the numbers they need.

The numbers, however, often belong to real people.

The result can be a bizarre form of identity theft. Traditional theft typically involves a person stealing someone's name and identification and then racking up huge debts under that name. But with Social Security-number (SSN)-only theft, oftentimes abusers have no intent of stealing anybody's good credit. They simply want the number so they can work and establish their own lines of credit — in their own name. In essence, two separate identities are created from one Social Security number.

Even in Lee's case, where there were a suspiciously large number of loans, the perpetrator had kept current on most of his payments, although Lee says he's under criminal investigation for other activities. (To protect Lee's privacy, we are not using her real name.)

How widespread is this type of identity theft? While there are no official statistics, Ingleby estimates that there are thousands of cases of SSN-only theft in Utah alone. "There are many, many more throughout the country," he says. "They get the counterfeit cards and start working, and when no one bothers with them, they start obtaining credit."

Unfortunately, stopping perpetrators is difficult. Lee estimates she spent hundreds of hours filing reports with more than 50 government agencies, including all local police precincts where the immigrant had been obtaining credit, the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.

The biggest challenge, says Lee, has been working to clean up her credit. Why? Because of the way credit is reported by the credit bureaus, lenders can see when there are two identities attached to one Social Security number. But individuals can't. When Lee pulled her own credit reports from the three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax), everything looked fine. None of the illegal loans were listed there. "You could have someone using your Social Security number and not know it," she says.

But a lender would. In Lee's case, a mortgage broker noticed the dual identities when the thief applied for yet another loan, and notified Lee of the problem.

Here's why this happens. When consumers pull their credit reports, credit bureaus collect all relevant account information by using an exact match of their name, Social Security number and address, explains Evan Hendricks, author of the book "Credit Scores and Credit Reports," which provides an in-depth look at the credit-reporting system. But when a creditor requests a consumer's credit report, the bureaus use a looser matching algorithm that allows for some discrepancies in the consumer's address, spelling of their name and even their Social Security number, says Hendricks. The idea is that while the credit bureaus should be careful not to send to a consumer a report that contains credit information that belongs to somebody else with a similar name or address, internally they should also allow for changes in name, address or even typos in Social Security numbers when a creditor requests a consumer's information.

As a result, "the report that you get will not be the same report that the lender would get if the lender pulled your credit report on the exact same day at the exact same time," says David Szwak, a consumer credit attorney and partner at Bodenheimer Jones Szwak & Winchell in Shreveport, La.

Don Girard, a spokesman for Experian, confirms that separate credit files can exist based on the same Social Security number. But he maintains that the two credit files remain totally unrelated if the Social Security number is associated with two different names. "We don't link your file to the thief's file via Social Security number," he says. "The Social Security number is not enough to identify a person within the Experian system — it requires a name and an address." (A TransUnion spokesman said the bureau is currently investigating this issue. Equifax did not provide a relevant comment.)

Hendricks disagrees. "I've seen many times when the multiple file is put on to the first person's credit report and disclosed to the credit grantors when consumers apply for credit," he says. "The credit bureaus seem to be in denial." In other words, even though the files are separate, it is very likely that creditors get access to both if either the victim or the perpetrator applies for a loan. And over time, information from the two files may get mixed.

John Braithwaite, 81 years old, is a case in point. In 2000, the Salt Lake City resident was informed by his credit union that a perpetrator had tried to obtain an $18,000 car loan using Braithwaite's SSN. The loan was denied, but when Braithwaite got a copy of the credit report used by the credit union, he was shocked to see that it contained his Social Security number and birth date, along with the perpetrator's name and Braithwaite's own name listed as a nickname. The perpetrator had already managed to obtain one car loan, a number of credit cards and a driver's license. All accounts on the report were current. But that hasn't been much relief for Braithwaite and his wife. "It was an awful shock," he says. "It wrecked my health, it really did."

Just how victims of this type of fraud will be affected depends on how intricately the two files are linked, and how the perpetrator has handled his or her loans. Lee's only hurdle: She has been denied cell-phone service because the company said her SSN belongs to somebody else. For now, she says her credit is still perfect, although she very much wants the illegal file separated from hers.

Her efforts on this front have been fruitless. When she notified the credit bureaus that somebody else was using her Social Security number, they simply verified the information. The most disheartening letter, she says, was sent by TransUnion. The bureau notified her that they had investigated the information in the perpetrator's file, adding that "The creditor(s) appearing on this file have verified the use of this Social Security number in connection with their accounts. Therefore, our office will continue to maintain this information under that identification."

Lee has given up fighting it. "Life goes on. If I need credit, I'll deal with it," she says.

Congress is aware of the problem. In December 2003, it signed an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, known as the FACT Act, which among other provisions instructs the Federal Trade Commission to address the problem of credit-report inaccuracies. The FTC is holding a series of roundtables in which experts such as Hendricks make recommendations on how to study problems like multiple files. But it may be some time before consumers can see any results. "They're just beginning the process," Hendricks says.

In the meantime, anybody could have their Social Security number stolen and be unaware of the fraud until the guillotine drops. "The only way a consumer can find out is to be notified by investigators or a collections agency," Hendricks says. "You can be the most diligent consumer and do everything you're supposed to do, including monitoring your credit report, and you still [might not] find out. It's pretty scary."

http://www.local6.com/personalfinance/8 ... etail.html

This article may be three years old, however, the problems those folks who have their number stolen today are no different than they were 3 years ago.

I've already called the regional ICE office to say a big 'thanks' for doing their job (I think the regional office is located in Seattle).

Also FYI for everyone here... trivial factoid of the day:

Tom Potter used to be Police Chief of the City of Portland
(Law enforcement, what law enforcement? - oh, that's right - only enforce the laws that don't offend anyone....[sarcasm]... riiiiiiigggght)

To fill in the details here a bit for user byforce + others...

The raid took place at Del Monte's (was that Del Monte, or was it Del Monte) yes, it was DEL MONTE's food packaging/processing facility in North Portland (north industrial area - address: 9243 N. Rivergate) - the area near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers.

Watch for line wrapping in the long link that follows:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?fo ... 243%20N%20
Rivergate%20Blvd&city=Portland&state=OR&zipcode=97 203%2d6615&country=US&geodiff=1

The facility is said to have employed about 600 people total there.

Here is my letter to Mayor Potter. I truly think he cares little about the voting, citizen peons like myself, but it simply had to be said to him, and I have to assume, MANY Oregonians, aware of Potters constant preferance for anyone who is "special interest", has also sent similar emails and calls.

Mayor Tom Potter, As a resident of the Portland Metro area, Gresham, and having lived within the Portland area for many years, I felt the need to address this issue of compassion for the ICE raid at the Del Monte plant.

You felt that these people had been wronged in this raid, but, I ask you, how about those Americans who have been pushed out of the job market when illegal aliens are given their jobs so the unscrupulous employer can pay a lowered wage and line their pockets? What about hard-working American families who are working hard, but hardly able to feed their families, will your crisis response team be there to help them?

Mayor Potter, I speak from experience when I tell you that illegal aliens in the Portland metro are, of Latino descent, getting preference in receiving help from state, federal, county and private social services. I have seen up front, the lengths to which social workers will go to help illegal aliens, even though they are here illegally, sometimes have better incomes, and have no social security numbers to verify what incomes they say they have. I have witnessed this preference, and miss-appropriation of federal funds, to which I reported to our own state legislators (Laurie Monnes-Anderson ,John Lim and others).

Why should people here illegally, against our laws be rewarded with jobs that belong to Americans, with social services they should not qualify for, and for the city of Portland's assistance. Where is the city of Portland's crisis intervention team when a family is devastated by an arrest of say one parent in the household? Where is you team when the true citizens of Portland cannot feed their own children? Are you helping citizens who break the laws, or are those citizens simply being put in jail? I think it is the latter and you truly do not care unless the people you are helping are not on your special interest groups sympathy list, which does not include American citizens in your city.

" Immigrants provide more than mere labor in our community. " Here you have stated that immigrants provide more than mere labor within the Metro area, I agree, but these people are clearly not immigrants, they are illegal aliens who have broken the laws and are living here, working here, against FEDERAL laws, which is the exact reason they have been arrested and detained. Now if these people, who were arrested, are true immigrants, then their rights, which legal immigrants DO have, will be protected. However, if the people arrested have been found to be here illegally, and having used false documents to obtain employment illegally, then they will and should be detained, prosecuted and deported as quickly as possible, with the least cost to the American taxpayer.

As well Mr. Potter, as a citizen of this country, and a holder of a social security number, which as all of us know has become Americans lifeblood to financial success in building credit, or their downfall, should their credit be destroyed by illegal miss-use, are YOU willing to share YOUR social security number, and your credit worthiness with some illegal alien who is here illegally, and working here illegally? I have to assume your answer would be NO, and that is exactly how any American who find their social security number being used by illegal aliens, and the terrible aftermath of their credit worthiness being ruined have and are feeling. Would you help out an American who had used someone else social security number to obtain a job, social services and all the benefits of that number, after they have been caught and detained? Would you come to bat for that American citizen?

I firmly believe all of the answers to these questions would be a resounding NO from you, as your agenda is clear, "who cares about the honest tax-paying citizens, who cares about their children's future, lets only help out those who are the next big potential voting block, those who are yet naive about our political backstabbing, lets help out the illegal aliens, lets make them legal by giving amnesty and not making them accountable for THEIR crimes as we do Americans"

Mr. Mayor, you should not be in this office as it has been shown your preference in aiding only those who are within your pet special interest groups, this is not something ANY elected official should be doing. You are honestly a shame to this state and this city. I truly hope Portlander's will grow weary of your leftist, anti-citizen politics and vote you out.

XXXXXXX, Gresham

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Oregon Leaders Support Illegal Immigrants After Raid
Portland Catholic Archbishop and Mayor Angered by Raid
By Bible Doc
The Archbishop of Portland's Catholic Archdiocese and the city's mayor both expressed their anger over a raid conducted by federal agents caught 167 illegal immigrants. According to an Associated Press article posted on Tucson, Arizona's Fox11AZ.com, both officials issued statements protesting the raid.
For his part, Archbishop John Vlazny called the raid, "an affront to a nation whose tradition has always welcomed the stranger in search of the security and livelihood which he cannot find in the country of his origin." Mayor Tom Potter had similar sentiments, adding that arresting local workers who are "filling the demands of local businesses for their labor is bad policy."

In the article, a local union leader disagreed with Vlazny and Potter, claiming that illegal immigrants were taking jobs away from Oregonians. "It's irresponsible for corporations like Fresh Del Monte to import workers when Oregon has plenty of skilled food processing workers right here at home," Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain said. The raid was conducted against American Staffing Resources and a Del Monte plant.

The raid was, in part, the result of a "sting" operation. According to AP, an undercover agent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement pretended to be an illegal immigrant who admitted to managers of processing plants that he was an illegal immigrant and did not have the necessary documents to be employed in the U.S. American Staffing Resources allegedly provided him counterfeit documents.

According to AP, federal officials estimated that at least 90% of the workers at the plants had false documents.

Three workers were arrested and indicted on ID theft charges. AP says that one previously had been deported to Mexico. The other two were accused of encouraging illegal immigrants. Of those two, one had several other charges related to false documents and ID theft. Mayor Potter did not object to the arrest of those three, but did not support the rounding up of the other workers.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials defended the raid as a way of holding employers accountable for the legal status of the people they hire. ""No employer, regardless of industry or location is immune from complying with the nation's laws," Leigh Winchell, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Seattle, told AP. "No employer, regardless of industry or location is immune from complying with the nation's laws."

In his statement, quoted on AP, Union leader Tom Chamberlain said that "The President and Congress need to stop playing games and pass comprehensive immigration reform that values workers and families, both citizen and immigrant."

Sources:

www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/stories ... 89198.html
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849828/posts


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Was Immigration Raid Retaliation?

PORTLAND - A local attorney says Tuesday's immigration raid in Portland was retaliation against worker complaints about safety violations.

Federal agents executed search and arrest warrants at three Portland locations. They say about 30 of those arrested were allowed to stay in Portland for health or family reasons. A busload of arrestees arrived Tuesday night at a U.S. Department of Homeland Security facility in Tukwila, Wash.

Officials say the raid was based on a federal investigation that began in January. But a local attorney and professor who represented Del Monte workers in a class-action lawsuit against the company says it was revenge.

"This was a publicized settlement where immigration officials were aware that there was this group of workers who had complained about workplace violations and this is the first plant they go after in Oregon -- I think it's more than coincidence," Keith Cunningham-Parmeter told KOIN News 6.

A state investigation found that eight workers were fired after complaining about safety problems.

Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent a response to KOIN: "ICE conducts all operations strictly in the interest of law enforcement and not for any other reason."

Portland Mayor Tom Potter said he's angry with the raid: "To go after local workers who are here to support their families is bad policy."

6/13/2007







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You know jim, I live right here in the Portland Metro area, and this is huge for this region. I have yesterdays paper laid out on the table, and there is article after article about this. This raid was warranted.

This has also made my apartment complex extremely quiet, curtains closed, and no music playing. People my own mother works with have asked her to call out on the intercom if she see's immigration, to which she politely declined.

Are they in fear? Sure as heck they all are, and should be, if they knowingly have broken the laws to be here, work here and receive benefits here, as well as false documentation. Any criminal is in fear of being caught and jailed, why should these people be an exception? They are criminals along with the employers who have encouraged their lawlessness and commited crimes to line their pockets.

Originally Posted by AmericanElizabeth

You know jim, I live right here in the Portland Metro area, and this is huge for this region. I have yesterdays paper laid out on the table, and there is article after article about this. This raid was warranted.

This has also made my apartment complex extremely quiet, curtains closed, and no music playing. People my own mother works with have asked her to call out on the intercom if she see's immigration, to which she politely declined.

Are they in fear? Sure as heck they all are, and should be, if they knowingly have broken the laws to be here, work here and receive benefits here, as well as false documentation. Any criminal is in fear of being caught and jailed, why should these people be an exception? They are criminals along with the employers who have encouraged their lawlessness and commited crimes to line their pockets.

AmericanElizabeth


Music to my ears