Thread: Grand Island Police Refuse To Help With Raid

http://www.ketv.com/news/10516610/detail.html?taf=oma
Grand Island Police Refuse To Help With Raid
Immigration Raid Includes Grand Island Plant

POSTED: 10:28 am CST December 12, 2006

GREELEY, Colo. -- A raid carried out in six cities nationwide started in Grand Island at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, but the local police did not help.

About 25 unmarked vehicles surrounded the Swift & Co. plant in Grand Island as part of a federal raid dubbed "Operation Wagon Train." All meat production is stopped, for now, at the plants.

Federal agents said on Tuesday afternoon that they had arrested an unknown number of people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. Swift plants in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas and Utah were raided. That covers all of the company's domestic beef processing, and more than three-quarters of its pork processing.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said that along with immigration violations, some of the workers also have criminal warrants. They said a yearlong investigation uncovered a scheme in which illegals and others allegedly stole or bought identities and Social Security numbers of maybe hundreds of Americans.

No charges are being filed against Swift.

In Nebraska, Grand Island police refused to be part of the raid at the plant in that city. Police Chief Steve Lamken said he met with ICE officials on Tuesday morning and told them his department would not be involved.

Lamken said his department has to take care of the Latino community, and participating in the raid may hamper his efforts if they fear the police.

At the Marshalltown, Iowa, plant, families gathered -- many with immigration paperwork -- to find out what would happen to their loved ones working at the plant.

"That's what we're all worried about is the kids, because they're going to, they said, to schools, houses. They already pulled over a friend over by Hy-Vee and stopped them and asked them if they were illegal," Eulalia Salazar said, whose family works at the plant.

Agents arrived at the Marshalltown plant with a civil search warrant to see if workers have the proper paperwork and whether they are there illegally. Those working illegally were loaded onto four large Department of Homeland Security buses. One of the buses already left the plant to go to different holding places until they can go through the deportation process and have the proper hearings.

There is no word on how many workers were taken from the Marshalltown plant.

This police chief needs to be fired pronto! And prosecuted for refusing to protect local American citizens!

Lamken said his department has to take care of the Latino community, and participating in the raid may hamper his efforts if they fear the police.

Unless you are corrupt (maybe you are?) then law abiding citizens have nothing to fear. You are not paid to take care of "the Latino community"! You are paid to uphold the law and support law abiding Americans!