Thread: 300 illegal immigrants held after S.C. I.C.E. raid (Now 331)

{Sob} story


Community torn apart by SC immigration raid
By MITCH WEISS and JEFFREY COLLINS – 41 minutes ago

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — When Magdalana Domingo Ramirez Lopez moved to this South Carolina city nearly two years ago to work at the chicken processing plant, she felt at home.

On weekends, the neighborhood near House of Raeford's plant was filled with the sounds of salsa music and the scents of Guatemalan cooking. She would shop with her three small sons at nearby businesses that catered to the immigrants — some in the country legally, others not.

While the sights and sounds reminded Lopez of her native Guatemala, she said she was happy living in the United States — a place that offered a better life for her and her three young sons.

But those hopes were shattered Tuesday when federal agents swooped into the plant, arresting 330 suspected illegal immigrants, six of them juveniles, effectively shutting down the factory and tearing apart the close-knit community.

Lopez was arrested and could be deported, as her husband was two years ago.

"My whole life has changed," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't want to go back. My sons are better off here. The country is so poor. There's nothing there."

A day after the raid, families waited to hear from loved ones at detention centers. Meanwhile, businesses and streets were vacant because those not rounded up stayed home, afraid agents would return.

Just days before, poultry workers visibly filled the neighborhoods around the plant.

The community's transformation was slow but steady over the last 15 years as the newcomers replaced working-class whites and blacks. Neighborhood residents who knew about federal charges against plant supervisors accused of helping illegal immigrants forge documents didn't think the trouble would trickle down to them.

After all, they were only here to give the plant long hours of joint-aching work and local officials didn't seem to mind. That thought was likely shared by immigrants in communities nationwide including states throughout the South, Iowa and New York who have been caught in similar raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lopez, 29, believed she was safe. But she spent most of Tuesday being fingerprinted and questioned by federal agents and a day later was coming to grips with being sent back to Guatemala. Her sons — ages 4, 5 and 6 — were all born in the U.S.

"The whole time I was there with police, I cried. I kept thinking about my sons. That I wouldn't see them again," she said.

She left Central America because she didn't want her family to grow up in a place where she was so hungry at times that she had to eat grass and dirt.

"I came to the U.S. for work. I came in peace. My goal was to help my sons grow up in a better place. Now that's gone," she said.

House of Raeford processes chickens and turkeys in eight plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Michigan. The Greenville plant and its nearly 900 workers have been under scrutiny for almost a year as authorities looked into allegations the company knowingly hired illegal immigrants. Eleven supervisors and the plant's human resources director have been arrested, mostly for falsifying immigration documents.

The company has issued a statement saying it never knowingly hired illegal immigrants and was cooperating.

Many workers say they had no idea about the legal troubles or that a raid was imminent.

"We never thought they would come in and start arresting everyone," said 35-year-old Jorge Mendoza, who missed the morning raid because he works second shift. "That would be like shutting down the plant. They wouldn't do that, we thought. The plant is too busy."

Mendoza said he plans to move his family because it's too dangerous to stay.

Greenville County deputies couldn't do much about illegal immigrants because no provision in South Carolina law makes it illegal to be in the U.S. without permission. Instead, deputies who thought they arrested or spoke to an illegal immigrant were told to contact federal immigration officials, said Master Deputy Michael Hildebrand.

Those arrested in the raid face various charges, including re-entry after deportation, counterfeit documents and false statements. All are in the U.S. Marshal's custody and have been processed for deportation.

Luis Garcia, an interpreter in the area, said removing so many people will devastate the community.

"They're breaking families. Everyone is worried," said Garcia, who visited Lopez to see how she was doing.

Lopez is under house arrest and has to wear an ankle monitor until her deportation hearing Nov. 14. She has no money to hire a lawyer.

Her 4-year-old son, Issias, is recovering from surgery she doubted he would get proper medical care in Guatemala, where she plans to take her children to rejoin their father.

When immigration officials asked her to sign a deportation order, she said she refused, replying: "First you kill me, then I'll sign it."

Several miles down the road, Emilio Espinoza manages the Guatemala Restaurant in a strip mall with a grocery store, bakery and nightclub, all catering toward Hispanics.

His usually packed restaurant was empty at lunchtime Wednesday for the first time since he opened seven years ago. Half his employees didn't show up because they were scared immigration agents might be in the area.

"People are afraid to leave their homes," said the 35-year-old Espinoza.

David Wynn said he has watched the neighborhood change around his heating and air conditioning supply store across the street from the plant.

Everyone knew the plant hired illegal immigrants, said Wynn, who added no one wanted to do anything about it because they figured the workers were doing jobs no one else wanted. With the economy getting worse, that's probably no longer true and he worries what is going to happen to all the people caught up in the raid.

"We need to pray for them," Wynn said.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jO9W ... gD93MJBC01

Lopez, 29, believed she was safe. But she spent most of Tuesday being fingerprinted and questioned by federal agents and a day later was coming to grips with being sent back to Guatemala. Her sons — ages 4, 5 and 6 — were all born in the U.S.

"The whole time I was there with police, I cried. I kept thinking about my sons. That I wouldn't see them again," she said.

She left Central America because she didn't want her family to grow up in a place where she was so hungry at times that she had to eat grass and dirt.

"I came to the U.S. for work. I came in peace. My goal was to help my sons grow up in a better place. Now that's gone," she said.

ROFLMAO!!!! What a pathetic LIAR! Her sons didn't even EXIST when she snuck into the US! DEPORT this scumbag and her sons with her!

She didn't want her "family" to grow up in a place where she was so hungry? This was before she even had a "family". How is that OUR problem?

They don't come here to work, they come to have anchor babies and handouts!!! DEPORT! DEPORT! DEPORT!

6 juveniles among hundreds arrested in immigration raid
By Eric Connor • STAFF WRITER • October 8, 2008


Buzz up! Six juveniles were among the hundreds of workers arrested Tuesday at a Greenville poultry plant, immigration officials said late Wednesday afternoon as they sorted through the aftermath of the largest workplace immigration crackdown ever in the Carolinas.


Meanwhile, a little more than one-fourth of the 330 workers who were "administratively arrested" during a raid on the House of Raeford Columbia Farms plant have been released for humanitarian reasons, while another 11 stood Wednesday before a judge in federal court to face immigration charges stemming from a 10-month investigation into the plant’s employment practices.

All of the workers arrested -- 207 men and 123 women -- have been processed and are being held in detention facilities in Georgia awaiting deportation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said. The detainees have been provided a list of free legal services, she said.

Tuesday’s raid -- referred to by one immigration special agent as the biggest ever in the Carolinas -- was the culmination of an ongoing investigation into House of Raeford’s employment practices, U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said.

During the course of the investigation, Wilkins said, agents reviewed 825 copies of I-9 forms that are used to verify a worker’s immigration status and of those, 94 percent were found to be falsified. As a result of the investigation, a human resources manager at the plant has been indicted and accused of encouraging supervisors to falsify employment documents.

On Wednesday, officials for House of Raeford, which owns the Greenville plant on Rutherford Road, couldn’t be reached to comment.

However, the company issued a press release on its Web site saying that the company doesn’t knowingly hire workers who are in the country illegally and that it is conducting its own investigation. The company said it "will terminate any and all of the employees who were taken into custody or have engaged in similar misconduct."

The Greenville plant was operating, and the company said that it will shift production to other plants to avoid an interruption of supply.

The raid -- which officials said involved about 450 officers from various jurisdictions -- began at about 8:50 a.m. Tuesday as shifts were changing at the plant.

Several workers ran as agents stormed the building, witnesses said. Workers were separated and told to provide identification before they could leave.

The workers -- whose home countries include Mexico, Hungary and countries in Central and South America -- were later transported to a temporary "processing center" operating from a warehouse in Taylors.

The youngest of the six juveniles is age 15 and the others are each age 16, Gonzalez said.

Two of the six juveniles who were arrested during the raid have been released to authorized caregivers, while the remaining four are waiting as ICE works with consulates in Mexico and Guatemala to reunite them with their families in their home countries, Gonzalez said.

After medical screening and interviews, 87 workers were released on humanitarian grounds that include medical and caregiver concerns. Each will be monitored until they appear before an immigration judge who will decide whether they will be deported.

Early Wednesday afternoon, 11 detainees appeared before U.S. Magistrate William Catoe in Greenville to face charges including immigration identification fraud, making false statements, aggravated identity theft and re-entering the United States after previously being deported.

The detainees, with somber faces and dressed in street clothes and handcuffed, answered routine questions through an interpreter and were assigned defense attorneys. All 11, one of whom was a plant supervisor, were being held by U.S. marshals.

Three who appeared before the judge are charged with using fraudulent immigration documents and aggravated identity theft -- Pedro J. Gomez, Roberto P. Dominguez and Abelardo Dominguez. A fourth -- John J. Johnson (also known as John Jairo Johnson-Amaya) -- has been charged with using fraudulent documents.

The remaining seven who appeared in court are charged with re-entering the country after previously being deported -- Roberto Maradiaga-Gonzalez, Miguel Domingo-Paiz, Ernesto Ignacio-Felipe, Marco Antonio Gomez-Lopez, Mateo Francisco-Sebastian, Juana Miguel-Juan and Adilia Moralez-Ruiz.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office will handle cases that ICE hands over for potential prosecution, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said.

On Wednesday, lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union discussed how to provide legal help for the detainees, said Adela Mendoza, a spokeswoman for the local Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community.

In the past several weeks, five other employees have pleaded guilty to immigration fraud charges and another seven have been indicted, including a human resources manager who faces 20 felony counts accusing her of encouraging supervisors to falsify employment documents.

The human resource manager’s case has been continued until January, according to court records.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pb ... PSTATE0302

I.C.E. News Release

October 9, 2008

331 Arrested by ICE agents during search of South Carolina poultry processing plant

GREENVILLE, S.C. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents executed a federal criminal search warrant yesterday at the Columbia Farms poultry processing plant as part of an ongoing, ten-month criminal investigation into its employment practices, which has already resulted in criminal charges against nine supervisors, four plant employees and one human resources manager. The announcement was made by ICE Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Investigations in Atlanta, Kenneth A. Smith, and W. Walter Wilkins, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina.

ICE agents searched for evidence relating to the unauthorized employment of illegal aliens and other crimes. Yesterday's enforcement action resulted in the administrative arrests of 331 illegal aliens (123 females, 208 males).

Mr. Wilkins stated, "Our office is charged with enforcing the immigration laws against aliens who illegally enter our country, and those who illegally harbor and employ them. The execution of this search warrant marks an important phase of this ongoing investigation into the hiring practices of this employer. Aggressive enforcement and investigative actions are vital to the integrity of our immigration system."

"Yesterday's enforcement operation is the latest step in a comprehensive criminal investigation focused on identifying the individuals involved in allowing unauthorized workers to gain employment," said Smith. "ICE targets employers because the promise of employment draws illegal workers across our borders. By holding employers accountable, we are diminishing the magnet and discouraging others from breaking the law."

Of the 331 arrested yesterday, 11 (2 females, 9 males), including one plant supervisor, face criminal charges for various crimes including re-entry after deportation, aggravated identity theft, counterfeit documents and false statements. All have been transferred into the U.S. Marshal's custody.

All of those administratively arrested have been interviewed, fingerprinted, and photographed by ICE agents and processed for removal from the United States. The females arrested were transferred to the Atlanta City Detention Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the males were transferred to the Stuart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.

Everyone encountered was medically screened and interviewed by a Public Health Service officer to determine if they had any medical, caregiver, or other humanitarian concerns. As a result of these screenings, ICE indentified 83 individuals eligible for humanitarian release (77 females, 6males). These individuals will still be required to appear before a federal immigration judge who will ultimately determine whether or not they will be deported

Six juveniles were found to be in the country illegally. Three are from Mexico and three are from Guatemala. ICE released two of the juveniles to an authorized caregiver. ICE is working with the Mexican and Guatemalan consulates to reunite the remaining juveniles with their respective families back in their home countries.

Those arrested yesterday, represent the following countries: Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Hungary.

ICE contacted local consular officials, community groups, and the local school district to ensure they have accurate information regarding the operation. ICE also established a toll-free number for family members to find out more information about the detention status of those arrested. Family members may call: 1-866-341-3858.

ICE agents will refer cases to the U.S. Attorney's Office for criminal prosecution upon identifying individuals who are in possession of stolen or unauthorized identification information, have previously been deported following a criminal felony conviction, or appear to be involved in other criminal activity. Any individuals identified as proper candidates for criminal prosecution will be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal's Service.

The operation follows the criminal cases filed earlier this year against nine plant supervisory employees and four plant employees. In June, arrest warrants were issued for nine supervisors at the plant, alleging that the men, all of Mexico, were illegally in the country, and were engaged in aggravated identity theft and the making of false statements to ICE authorities. Of the 13 charged, nine have pleaded guilty, two have been sentenced and seven are awaiting sentencing:

Juan Rodriguez, age 27; Juan Suarez, age 28; Evaristo Vasquez, age 39; Simon Gomez, age 28; Juan Olivares, age 32; Guadalupe Templos, age 34; Federico Perez, age 37; Daniel Badillo-Baca, age 20 and Guillermo Hernandez-Ramirez, age 31.

Two others are awaiting trial:

Victor Cruz-Soto, Nain Zarate-Camarero, both 28 years old.

The final two supervisors, Reyes Ramos and Fortino Cruz, were also charged with the same offenses but have not been arrested and are considered fugitives. Anyone with information on their whereabouts should contact the ICE toll-free tip line by dialing 1-877-2-DHS-ICE.

In July, the 14th individual charged was Elaine Crump, age 48, of Greenville, a human resources manager at the plant. She was indicted on 20 counts for filing false I-9 employment identification forms and is awaiting trial.

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

Last Modified: Thursday, October 9, 2008
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0810/081009greensville.htm

October 17, 2008


Illegal workers brought back to Postville by U.S.

By GRANT SCHULTE and TONY LEYS
gschulte@dmreg.com

Eighteen illegal immigrants arrested during a meatpacking plant raid in Postville have returned to town and might receive work permits for as long as federal prosecutors need them, a U.S. immigration spokesman said Thursday.

But the workers still face deportation, and were shipped to town fresh out of prison with few belongings and scant job opportunities, said a local church pastor who cared for the workers.

The immigrants were tagged as witnesses this week in the case against two human resources managers at Agriprocessors Inc., a kosher meat plant that employed hundreds of illegal immigrants and was the site of one of the largest raids in U.S. history in May. All of the witnesses have completed five-month prison sentences at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Tim Counts.

Less than a week after they completed their prison terms, federal agents obtained warrants to hold the immigrants as material witnesses in their case. A federal judge, however, ordered that the workers be released with supervision.

Court papers identify 16 workers as witnesses in the case against Laura Althouse, the plant's payroll supervisor, and two in the case of Karina Freund, a Spanish translator who helped process work papers. The release orders - written in English and Spanish - require the workers to wear GPS ankle-monitoring bracelets and stay within an area determined by a probation officer.

The Rev. Paul Ouderkirk, the pastor at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville, said the witnesses were brought back to Postville Sunday with next to nothing.

One man had a check for $21 in prison wages, he said. Three others were sharing one toothbrush. Ouderkirk said the men did not yet have work permits, and would likely have to stay with relatives in town.

"We fed the ones who came here today, because they were hungry as all get-out," Ouderkirk said Thursday, adding that "the only jobs around here would be the occasional farm work or going back to the plant."

Ouderkirk and other religious leaders have complained in the past that federal agents in the raid's wake relied too heavily on local churches to shelter and feed the immigrant workers.

Althouse and Freund were charged with federal and state crimes in September, four months after federal agents raided Agriprocessors and detained 389 illegal immigrant workers. The raid sparked allegations that plant managers had violated labor laws and mistreated some workers.

Bob Teig, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said his office planned to call another 13 immigrants as witnesses.

Those immigrants have just finished federal prison sentences in Tallahassee and Miami.

The immigrants identified as witnesses still will be deported as part of their criminal plea deals, Counts said. A work authorization "is temporary by nature, and does not change the fact that they have a deportation order," Counts said.

ICE agents, he said, have asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to fast-track the immigrants' applications for work permits so they can find a job.

The plea deal for most of the immigrants arrested in May requires them to cooperate with the government's ongoing investigation of Agriprocessors. Immigrants who receive temporary work permits have to find jobs on their own, Teig said.

"The work authorization would allow them to work for as long as they are here," Teig said. "Since they are material witnesses in these cases, it would last at least as long as the process takes."

Althouse, of Postville, was charged with aiding and abetting document fraud, aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens. Freund, of Fayette, faces one count of aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens.

Representatives for the women have said they still work at Agriprocessors.

Althouse, if convicted, faces between two and 22 years in prison, a $750,000 fine, a $300 court surcharge and supervised release of up to seven years. Freund would face a maximum five-year sentence, a $250,000 fine, a $100 surcharge and three years of supervised release.

Althouse, Freund and three plant managers also are charged with 9,311 child labor violations filed by the Iowa attorney general's office.

Agriprocessors officials facing state misdemeanor charges are company owner Abraham Aaron Rubashkin; his son, longtime company leader Sholom Rubashkin; human resources manager Elizabeth Billmeyer; and Althouse and Freund.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... 1/SPORTS09

Ouderkirk and other religious leaders have complained in the past that federal agents in the raid's wake relied too heavily on local churches to shelter and feed the immigrant workers.

So? What's your point padre? You wanted them here, you can shelter and feed them on your dime. WE owe them NOTHING, except a return trip home.

Put up or shut up!

Originally Posted by miguelina

Ouderkirk and other religious leaders have complained in the past that federal agents in the raid's wake relied too heavily on local churches to shelter and feed the immigrant workers.

So? What's your point padre? You wanted them here, you can shelter and feed them on your dime. WE owe them NOTHING, except a return trip home.

Put up or shut up!

Another example of a Elitist Special Interest Group, in this case BIG RELIGION, wanting to profit from their ILLEGALS by either receiving church donations from the ILLEGALS or receiving Federal or State funds to house and feed them while they take jobs from United States Citizens!

October 20, 2008


4 arrested in poultry plant raid go before judge on immigration charges

By Eric Connor
STAFF WRITER

Four arrested during a massive immigration raid at a Greenville poultry plant appeared in federal court Monday to face immigration violation charges.

In preliminary hearings this morning, an FBI agent was sworn in and evidence presented led the judge to find probable cause in three cases, court records show. In a fourth case, the defendant waived his right to a probable cause hearing, records show.

The four are among 11 detainees who have been charged following the raid earlier this month of the House of Raeford Columbia Farms chicken-processing plant on Rutherford Road, the culmination of a 10-month investigation into the plant's hiring practices.

The company has said it doesn't knowingly hire illegal workers and has said it is cooperating in the U.S. Attorney's Office's investigation that began in November.

During the raid earlier this month, 330 workers were "administratively arrested" on suspicion of being illegal aliens.

Also during the raid, federal agents seized 11 computers and 18 boxes of documents containing employment documents including I-9 forms that are used to verify legal immigration status for employment, according to a federal search warrant seeking permission to seize records that are believed to show employment fraud.

The detainees face charges including immigration identification fraud, making false statements, aggravated identity theft and re-entering the United States after previously being deported.

Pedro Gomez and Roberto Dominguez stood before the judge Monday on charges of using fraudulent immigration documents and aggravated identity theft, according to court records. John J. Johnson (also known as John Jairo Johnson-Amaya) appeared Monday on charges that he used fraudulent documents, records show.

A fourth, Marco Antonio Gomez-Lopez, appeared Monday on charges that he re-entered the country illegally after previously having been deported, records show.

The Oct. 7 raid -- described as the largest workplace in immigration raid ever in the Carolinas -- followed a 10-month investigation during which agents reviewed 825 copies of I-9 forms that are used to verify a worker's immigration status, U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said.

Of those forms, 94 percent were found to be falsified, Wilkins said. As a result of the investigation, a human resources manager at the plant has been indicted and accused of encouraging supervisors to falsify employment documents.

During the raid, six juveniles as young as age 15 were found working in the plant, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said.

In the past several weeks, five other employees have pleaded guilty to immigration fraud charges and another seven have been indicted, including a human resources manager who faces 20 felony counts accusing her of encouraging supervisors to falsify employment documents.

www.greenvilleonline.com

Numerous comments at the source link.
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November 19, 2008


12 plead guilty to immigration, identity fraud charges in poultry plant raid

By Eric Connor
STAFF WRITER

A dozen illegal aliens caught up in the federal investigation into hiring practices at the Columbia Farms poultry plant in Greenville pleaded guilty Wednesday to immigration and identity fraud charges -- and prosecutors say more will follow as the ongoing investigation unfolds.

The dozen from Mexico and Central America joined several before them who have been prosecuted in federal court in Greenville.

The charges followed what began as a federal inquest in November 2007 into the use of employment verification forms at the chicken-processing plant.

The investigation culminated this past October in a morning-shift immigration raid of the work site where 330 illegal immigrants were allegedly found to be working illegally.

On Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Max Cauthen said that a handful of cases are pending, including an indictment against Elaine Crump, which alleges the human resources manager at the House of Raeford subsidiary encouraged employees to falsify employment forms.

The investigation is still under way and more charges could be filed, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said.

Crump’s case has been held over until January.

U.S. District Judge Henry Herlong sentenced each of the 12 who appeared in court Wednesday to time served and ordered them to be deported immediately to their home countries of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Nain Zarate-Camarero and Victor Cruz-Soto were arrested outside the plant in July as federal agents were investigating the company’s use of I-9 forms, which are used to verify employment. Camarero and Soto pleaded guilty Wednesday to misusing social security numbers that belonged to other people.

Three others who pleaded guilty Wednesday to misusing social security numbers were caught in the October raid, brothers Abelardo and Roberto Dominguez, and Pedro Jorge-Gomez.

The remaining seven former plant workers in court Wednesday pleaded guilty to re-entering the country illegally after having been previously deported: Mateo Francisco- Sebastian, Juana Miguel-Juan, Ernesto Ignacio-Felipe, Marco Antonio Gomez-Lopez, Roberto Maradiaga-Gonzalez, Miguel Domingo-Paiz and Adilia Morales-Ruiz.

The rest of the 330 who were detained in the raid are either being held in Georgia or have been allowed temporary release on "humanitarian" grounds until deportation hearings commence.

www.greenvilleonline.com