Postville worker hearings end, but questions linger
By GRANT SCHULTE • gschulte@dmreg.com • May 23, 2008

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Waterloo, Ia. - The final day of plea hearings for the workers arrested in last week's raid of a northeast Iowa meat-processing plant ended Thursday with still-unanswered questions about where the detained workers will head next.

Questions remain about when and where federal authorities will transfer the more than 300 people arrested May 12 at Postville's Agriprocessors Inc. on fraud and immigration-related charges.


Federal police have refused to disclose details, citing security concerns, but say the plant's former workers given five-month prison sentences will serve their time under supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which does not have facilities in Iowa. Some lawyers have suggested that the immigrants might stay in their current jails because their prison sentences are relatively short.

A total of 297 immigrants who are in the United States illegally pleaded guilty this week to lesser charges that will allow most to return to their home countries after their five-month stints in federal custody. The offer was so unusual, authorities said, that prosecutors had to clear their proposed plea bargains with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Attorneys for the former workers said they were uncertain where their clients would go after their plea deals, or when they would move from their current holding areas in various county jails.

"I wish I could tell you," said Rick Sole, a Cedar Rapids lawyer who represented some of the immigrants. "My clients would like to know, too. It's absolutely out of our control, and unknown. I have no idea how long it will be before they transfer out of the county jail."

Bob Teig, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Cedar Rapids, said federal authorities generally disclose an inmate's location only after he or she arrives at a prison. He said the public can then find the immigrants through an "inmate locator" at www.bop.gov, the Web site for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The 306 immigrants charged criminally were part of a group of 389 suspected illegal workers detained in the largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history.

Defense lawyers said the hearings this week were fair, and the government provided them adequate time to consult with their clients and answer legal questions. In many cases, the immigrants themselves wanted the hearings fast-tracked so they could quickly return to their native countries.

Lines of handcuffed immigrants streamed through courtrooms Thursday afternoon, well ahead of schedule, as court officials worked to finish the hearings. The federal government's lease with the National Cattle Congress expires Sunday.

Families - many of them in Guatemala and Mexico - have relied on a volunteer network based in Postville to track individual cases and share the available information.

"It's been a joint effort," said Dave Eastman, a Clear Lake lawyer who represented 20 immigrants. "I've gotten a few calls, and I know the church in Postville is trying to help. It's kind of a hit-or-miss proposition."

Eastman said a group of private attorneys designated to handle overflow cases for the federal public defender were called to the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids about three weeks before the raid. A judge told them to block off time in their schedules but did not elaborate.

The U.S. attorney's office then gathered the lawyers as the raid was taking place and explained the situation, Eastman said. Shortly afterward, they met with their detained clients - first in large groups in a building at the National Cattle Congress, then at the county jails for one-on-one discussions.

Federal prosecutors and immigration agents also remained tight-lipped about whether they planned to charge any of the managers at Agriprocessors amid allegations of worker abuse and fraud. Teig said the investigation remained open.

Part of the plea deal for many of the immigrants requires their cooperation in future, unspecified criminal investigations. Sole, asked whether his clients had spoken with federal authorities about the plant, hesitated before answering.

"I can't tell you much about it," Sole said. "Certainly, they want information from these people about conditions in the plant. Some people know nothing. Some people know more."






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