Thread: Names Released in iowa Raids

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs. ... 002/NEWS01

Names of people indicted on the left hand column
ALSO Notice related stories.

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa wrote Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff on Tuesday to say he is appalled by the process used to detain and deport workers in raids earlier this month at six Swift & Co. packing plants, including one in Marshalltown.

For archival purposes, below is the entire article.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs. ... 002/NEWS01

23 indicted in Iowa Swift raid
Most are accused of using others' IDs to get jobs at the Marshalltown facility.

Here are the 30 people who have been charged with criminal offenses in connection with the Swift & Co. investigation in recent weeks, according to federal records:

NAME — COUNTRY — AGE — INDICTED DATE
• Sandra Y. Martinez-Figueroa Guatemala 26 Dec. 19
• Lilian Lopez-Aguirre Guatemala 25 Dec. 19
• Norma Gonzalez-Hernandez Mexico 29 Dec. 19
• Eusebio Andrade-Parra Mexico 32 Dec. 19
• Nicasio Mendoza-Gonzalez Mexico 35 Dec. 19
• Yoan Vargas-Acosta Mexico 26 Dec. 19
• Efrain Garcia-Aguilar Mexico 32 Dec. 19
• Walter Montero-Salguero El Salvador 23 Dec. 19
• Isidro Bautista-Alejo Mexico 35 Dec. 19
• Eloisa Nunez-Galena Mexico 32 Dec. 19
• Alejo Blas-Torres Mexico 25 Dec. 19
• Roberto Sanchez-Adame Mexico 35 Dec. 19
• Mario Vargas-Nunez Mexico 33 Dec. 19
• Evangelina Cruz-Hernandez Mexico 35 Dec. 19
• Alejandro Vasquez-Avina Mexico 29 Dec. 19
• Salvador Yanez-Flores Guatemala 30 Dec. 19
• Selvin Tejada-Recinos Guatemala 24 Dec. 19
• Juan Quiroz-Jasso Mexico 32 Dec. 19
• Rosalinda Mendez-Rubi Mexico 32 Dec. 19
• Vincente Rangel-Mazqueda Mexico 23 Dec. 19
• Elida Yepez-Alvarez Mexico 32 Dec. 19
• Lorena Andrade-Rodriguez Mexico 34 Dec. 19
• Martin Morales-Landeros Mexico 41 Dec. 19
• Veronica Martinez-Mesa Mexico 31 Dec. 6
• Simon Morales-Andrade Mexico 32 Dec. 6
• Jose Cano-Alejo Mexico 30 Dec. 6
• Edilberto Torres-Reyes Mexico 48 Dec. 6
• Augustin Torres-Silva Mexico 18 Dec. 6
• Jaime Gonzalez-Alvarez Mexico 38 Dec. 6
• Jorge Talavera-Lopez Mexico 18 Nov. 14


BY LISA ROSSI AND JEFF ECKHOFF
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS

December 21, 2006
33 Comments

Officials said 23 undocumented immigrants were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Des Moines on immigration and identity theft charges stemming from the raid in Marshalltown last week.

Nearly all of the indictments involve workers who are accused of using other people's identities to obtain jobs at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant.

Documents filed with an administrative search warrant - most of which was released Wednesday after a request by The Des Moines Register - show that federal immigration authorities believe they "have identified document vendors in the Marshalltown, Iowa, area that are selling genuine identification documents to illegal aliens."

Details about those vendors were not contained in the portions of the documents made public Wednesday. Parts of the search warrant materials involving the vendors had been removed by federal authorities before the records were turned over to the newspaper.

The indictments accuse the immigrants of using falsely obtained state identification cards from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas to obtain jobs at the Swift plant in Marshalltown.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker of Des Moines said the 23 people whose charges were made public Wednesday came from a pool of 664 current or former Swift workers in Marshalltown who federal investigators suspect, based on an examination of their identification documents, had worked illegally at the plant.

"Many are no longer employed by Swift," Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Mark Cangemi said Wednesday, referring to the 664 people. "There are a lot of folks out there who were former or present employees of Swift we have an interest in."

Eighty-nine people were taken into custody in Marshalltown last week as part of one the largest immigration raids in U.S. history. "That was lower than expected," Whitaker said.

Overall, about 1,200 people were taken into custody at Swift plants in six states. Nationwide, more than 100 people face charges ranging from fraud to identity theft as part of the investigation.

Federal authorities in Iowa said Wednesday that they have compiled files on the original 664 people whose identification documents were examined by investigators. Officials have gathered such additional materials as the workers' credit histories.

Some of the people taken into custody last week have been released to deal with family issues, authorities said. Others continue to be detained and are awaiting either deportation or the outcome of their criminal cases.

Cangemi did not give specific locations for those in custody, but he said some were being held in Omaha, some in Sioux Falls, S.D., and some in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

At court hearings in Des Moines Wednesday, where 11 of the recently charged workers were arraigned, officials said at least some of the immigrants probably would stay in Polk County.

The indictments unsealed Wednesday include charges of making a false statement or claim of U.S. citizenship; use of false state identification documents to obtain employment; and false representation of a Social Security number.

Ten of the 23 people named in the indictments were charged with aggravated identity theft. One of the workers is accused of illegally re-entering the United States after being deported for an aggravated felony.

The 23 join seven other people from the Marshalltown area who were charged with similar offenses in recent weeks.

During the Dec. 12 raid, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials used warrants to enter Swift beef- and pork-processing plants in Marshalltown, Greeley, Colo.; Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; and Worthington, Minn.

Officials have declined to say whether charges will be filed against Swift.

Federal officials also defended the government's efforts against accusations from lawyers, the clergy and activists that the government's treatment of the detained Swift workers, especially those with children, was inhumane.

"We do not have specific instances of parentless children wandering the streets of Marshalltown," Whitaker responded, adding that some stories of the families of those detained had been exaggerated for political gain.

Whitaker said the arrests underscored the need for better technology for employers to use in monitoring the legal status of their employees.

"Sometimes it should be a little robust - biometrics or identity cards not easily forged," he said.

Reporter Jeff Eckhoff can be reached at (515) 284-8271 or jeckhoff@dmreg.com

Originally Posted by had_enuf

Whitaker said the arrests underscored the need for better technology for employers to use in monitoring the legal status of their employees.

What it underscores is that the White House is aiding and abetting illegal criminals in their invasion of the United States, What it also underscores is the fact a wall was needed long ago, armed to the hilt, and those illegals here already shipped back to country of origin and those false Americans who supported them shipped back with them.

can we make the fence and electric fence and double fences?