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  1. #1
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Dairy farmers plead not guilty to hiring, harboring undocumented immigrants

    By Andrew Dodson |
    on September 24, 2016 at 1:51 PM, updated September 24, 2016 at 1:52 PM

    BAY CITY, MI — A husband and wife indicted on charges of hiring and harboring undocumented immigrants to work on their dairy farms in Huron and Tuscola counties have pleaded not guilty.

    Denis Burke, 53, and Madeline Burke, 50, owners of Parisville Dairy and Dunganstown Dairy in the Thumb, entered their not guilty pleas in federal court Friday, Sept. 23, said Daniel J. Vaccaro, the couple's attorney.

    "The Burkes and their dairy operations deny the allegations in the indictment and stand by their pleas of not guilty entered in court yesterday," Vaccaro said in an email to MLive. "The dairies have historically complied in good faith with the requirements of the law with respect to the hiring of all workers."

    United States Attorney Barbara McQuade announced the indictment along with Marlon Miller, special agent in charge, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on Monday, Sept. 19.

    The Burkes owned and operated Parisville Dairy and Dunganstown Dairy where they employed workers at the farms, according to the indictment. Beginning in 2007 and continuing through June 2013, the Burkes allegedly conspired to transport, conceal, harbor and shield from detection undocumented immigrants to obtain their services for financial gain.

    As a part of its hiring practices, the indictment further alleges, the Burkes and the farms failed to conduct the necessary inquiries required by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine the eligibility of all individuals to work in the U.S.

    Some of the undocumented immigrants were hired by the Burkes on multiple occasions, using different names or Social Security numbers, according to the release. The defendants induced the undocumented immigrants to reside in the U.S. by providing them with employment and free housing on the farm, away from scrutiny by immigration authorities and the surrounding community, the release said.

    In 2013, federal agents, assisted by Huron County sheriff's deputies, raided the two dairy farms as part of an ongoing investigation. At the time, Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson said his deputies observed "three or four illegals being taken into custody."

    He told WNEM TV-5 that his department has had a history with the farms.

    "We've been at that location in the last four years, five times," he said. "Three of those have involved illegal aliens."

    Hanson told MLive this week said he hasn't had contact with the farm since that raid in 2013.

    The Burke's indictment marks the second time a farmer in Huron County has been in hot water on charges of employing undocumented immigrants.

    In 2010, Johannes VerHaar and his wife Anthonia M. VerHaar, were indicted on charges of illegally hiring undocumented immigrant employees at their dairy farm, Aquila Farms LLC. At least 18 illegal immigrant workers were arrested at the farm during two raids in 2007, when the VerHaars — originally from the Netherlands — weren't U.S. citizens themselves.

    The couple avoided jail time after pleading guilty to employing the illegal workers. They were sentenced to three years probation and fines totaling $234,000 for their illegal hiring practices. They were allowed to keep their 2,500-cow dairy farm at 3201 Soper Road in Bad Axe.

    The dairy industry is on the rise in Huron County. According to the Department of Agriculture's 2012 Census of Agriculture report, which is conducted every five years, Huron County ranks No. 1 in the state for sales from milk, at more than $162 million. The county ranks 73 of 3,079 counties in the nation.

    http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/i...ot_guilty.html
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
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    Coming from a family of dairy farmers, there is no reason at all to hire illegal aliens to help run a dairy farm. Americans were always willing to do this work when it was a lot harder to do than it is today with the massive mechanization in these huge dairy farms with thousands of cows. There is no excuse at all.
    A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Woman sent to federal prison for helping immigrants work at Thumb dairy farms
    MLive.com
    BAY CITY, MI — A woman who illegally helped immigrants work at dairy farms in Michigan's Thumb will serve more than two years in a federal prison...

    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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    Moderator Beezer's Avatar
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    Go back to the chain gang. Put low risk prisoners to work instead of pumping iron, watching TV with nothing to do all day! Let the farmer pay a reasonable wage that must be put in an account until their release.

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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Dairy farm owner pleads guilty to using illegal labor


    The owner of two Michigan dairy farms pleaded guilty Tuesday to harboring workers who were in the U.S. illegally and agreed to pay nearly $1.4 million to the government.
    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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  6. #6
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


    Sign in and post comments here.

    Please support our fight against illegal immigration by joining ALIPAC's email alerts here https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

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