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  1. #1
    Senior Member FedUpinFarmersBranch's Avatar
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    Defendents in Ice raid appear in court,<with video>

    July 3, 2008, 2:59PM
    Defendants in ICE raid case appear in court


    By JAMES PINKERTON
    Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


    RESOURCES
    The owner and two employees of a eastside Houston clothing and rag exporting company posted bond Thursday on charges of harboring and hiring undocumented workers, as defense attorneys said the prosecution was fallout from the politically charged debate over immigration.

    At a hearing at the federal courthouse in Houston, U.S. Magistrate Calvin Botley ordered the release of Mabarik Kahlon, 45, owner of Action Rags USA, and ex-employee Rasheed Ahmed, 58, after they each posted a $50,000 bond.

    Immigration agents last week detained 166 undocumented workers at the Action Rags USA plant at 1225 Port Houston. Most of the workers arrested were women, and so far Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released 74 for humanitarian reasons such as being sole caregivers. ICE officials could not say how many of the remaining workers are being detained or were removed from the U.S.

    The judge noted two undocumented company managers from Mexico — manager Cirila Barron, 38, and warehouse supervisor Mayra Herrera-Gutierrez, 32, — have immigration detainers lodged against them allowing them to be held by ICE and making them ineligible for bond. Botley found the woman do not have the financial ability to hire their own lawyers, and appointed attorneys to represent them.

    A fifth defendant, Valerie Rodriguez, a 34-year-old Houston native who is the Action Rags resource manager, was released on a $50,000 bond.

    ''This is a political issue," said Paul Nugent, who is representing Rodriguez. ''Any employer, whether it's a homeowner, a small restaurant, a mom-and-pop grocery store, a big corporation, is subject to this kind of prosecution. The fact that there's been arrests doesn't mean that anyone broke the law."

    Nugent expressed concern that the government's case relies on evidence gathered by informants. ''An agent with a gun and badge can get an informant to say anything," he said.

    Action Rags was reported to a Department of Homeland Security tip line in July 2005 by a person who said the company employed undocumented workers.

    ICE agents directed a confidential source to enter Action Rags, posing as an undocumented worker, according to court documents. The source, who audio-taped company owners and managers, told ICE investigators about illegal hiring practices at the plant.

    David Gerger, who represents Kahlon, won the magistrate's permission to allow his client to travel in the continental U.S. for his vitamin supplement business.

    ''Immigration is a very political issue, and until it is solved politically any employer is at risk — big or small," Gerger said after the hearing. ''We'll be pleading not guilty and contesting these charges."

    Ahmed's attorney said the government was mistaken when it said his client was both Kahlon's uncle and business partner, explaining he was a friend who worked at the company for a brief time.

    ''I'd like to point out my client was not working at Action Rags at the time of the raid," said Matt Hennessey. ''He worked at Action Rags for only three months in 2007, and he had to quit because of his advanced Parkinson disease."

    Robert Rutt, Special Agent in Charge of ICE criminal investigation in Houston, declined to comment on the issues raised by defense attorneys, noting it was an ongoing case.

    Botley ordered all five defendants to appear July 8 for a preliminary hearing in the case.

    james.pinkerton@chron.com

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 70369.html
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Senior Member legalatina's Avatar
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    Action Rags was reported to a Department of Homeland Security tip line in July 2005 by a person who said the company employed undocumented workers.

    All the more reason to make sure the American public knows about the toll-free ICE number to reports suspected illegal aliens, their employers and/or suspcicious immigration activity

    1-866-DHS-2ICE (toll free and reports can be made anonymously and even in English/spanish)

  3. #3
    Senior Member Captainron's Avatar
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    Nugent expressed concern that the government's case relies on evidence gathered by informants. ''An agent with a gun and badge can get an informant to say anything," he said.
    What a (as lawyers like to say) disengenuous remark!
    "Men of low degree are vanity, Men of high degree are a lie. " David
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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