Thread: Wasn't expecting this.....

My husband called just about 10 minutes ago from his work (in an industrial, port area of Portland), and said a co-worker told him on her way in, that three agents from Department of Homeland Security was there.

He asked how she knew it was them, and she said they all had badges, but obviously in plain clothes.

He told his closest co-worker, a legal immigrant from Mexico, who looked a bit startled and said "no they are not here for me" and pulled out his papers he keeps on him constantly. Then both looked around, speculating what or for who they might be there for.

We did speculate on one former co-worker, who also was from Mexico, who up and disappeared a while back. When I say disappeared, I mean no word, no call as to "I'm quiting", nothing. Even his closest friends have no idea what happened. He left behind here, a teen son who was at home, with an adult sister and brother-in-law caring for him. This mans wife was in Mexico caring for her dying father (she was obviously legal as she flew back to my understanding).

However, this man just up and left, also did not take any clothes or even his car or cell phone. His kids, when asked, were very sketchy on where he was, they really did not seem to know what to tell anyone calling.

Other than that, my husband said he thinks that his employers is very exemplory about keeping up on their immigrant employees. The only other thing we can think of, is there is this one young woman working there who keeps trying to wear her home decorated black sweatshirt to work that say's "Animal rights NOW!! (yep, you guessed it, a dreadlock wearing major radical libertard, if not IMO a local anarchist). I actually think these are the only two reasons they would be there.

So, we can all start feeling assured that Homeland Security may actually be doing their jobs. I'll keep you all updated, if we can find out what it is about (could be a hush, hush thing though, we'll see).

He told his closest co-worker, a legal immigrant from Mexico, who looked a bit startled and said "no they are not here for me" and pulled out his papers he keeps on him constantly.

I remember having papers with me at all times when we first emigrated here too. I finally stopped after I learned to speak fluent ENGLISH and got my citizenship papers. Why? Because in South America, we each HAD to carry our ID and could be stopped at any time and asked to produce them, even the children.

AE: Also, I would throw out the possibility that it could be something related to the Customs side of things too. If the place he works ships a lot of things around - especially in or out of the country - it could very well be related to inspecting products/goods not necessarily people...

I think there is a tendency for us to overlook the ICE - eg.
Immigration and CUSTOMS Enforcement sometimes....

This guy is taking English classes at a local community college, at his own expense, he is determined to learn all he can about the U.S. and become a citizen when he takes his citizenship test. Good guy.

There are also some Asian immigrants (from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia I believe)working there, and suppose they also could have let paperwork slip that the employer did not catch yet...most of them are young and could have let it slip as sometimes a young person does, not taking stuff seriously.

I am leaning towards the anarchist. I know we tend to associate Dept. of Homeland Security, right away, with someone who's immigration status is not good, but also they handle domestic terrorism (as in Earth Liberation Front and such).

This sounds "interesting"....keep us updated if possible.

keep us updated if possible

Will do that, though I wondered if no info would leak out just yet.....we'll see.

Still no major news. It is all hush, hush, and were there for quite a while.

I do know they were uninterested in paperwork in office, they only took a supervisor aside to talkto her about somebody, but she can't say anything, so who knows right now.

Well, we might not know for a while.

All I do know is this. They needed the bookkeeper as he is the only one with access to the time clock (they needed to see if the person of interest checked in). So they were looking for someone.

I had speculated that it could also be about shipments coming in from overseas, where the companies owner gets a lot of their fabrics from. No, it is definitely about someone as both warehouse supervisors were talked to.

I would think that if it had something to do with illegal immigration, fake ID's and such, they would have been in the office looking through paperwork, but they did not once spend any time in the offices.

The few who actually do know, said they certainly cannot say anything (or they would be in serious trouble), so, I just do not know right now. DANG!!......

Originally Posted by miguelina

He told his closest co-worker, a legal immigrant from Mexico, who looked a bit startled and said "no they are not here for me" and pulled out his papers he keeps on him constantly.

I remember having papers with me at all times when we first emigrated here too. I finally stopped after I learned to speak fluent ENGLISH and got my citizenship papers. Why? Because in South America, we each HAD to carry our ID and could be stopped at any time and asked to produce them, even the children.

Wow, doesn't sound like a place I would want to live. I just couldnt imagine having to show my papers all the time. Oh, yeah, we are coming to that point here in the US. In NC, they have checkpoints where they can stop anyone and ask to see their id. Imagine that. Sounds like other things I have read about in History.