Thread: ICE arrests more than 100 workers in raid on Ohio meat supplier

ICE arrests more than 100 workers in raid on Ohio meat supplier


CNN 3:44 PM, Jun 19, 2018
2 hours ago

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JOHN MOORE

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Federal immigration officials on Tuesday raided a large meat supplier based in Massillon, Ohio, and arrested more than 100 workers suspected of using stolen or fraudulent identification to gain employment.

As many as 100 agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Customs and Border Protection and the US Border Patrol descended upon four facilities operated by Fresh Mark during the late afternoon raid.

The raid -- which was conducted with no prior notice to the business -- was the largest workplace enforcement action to take place under the Trump Administration, said Steve Francis, special agent in charge of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit, which oversees Michigan and Ohio.

Officials arrived with criminal and federal search warrants to collect documents on more than 200 employees. The warrants were served at Fresh Mark's facilities in Salem, Massillon and Canton, Ohio.

ICE officials said the number of workers arrested was likely to climb once the operation concluded. Officials said some arrested workers could face federal charges for identity theft and/or reentry after deportation.

All of the workers who were arrested during Tuesday's raid worked at the company's Salem meat processing facility, said Francis. Most of the workers involved are from Guatemala, he said.

The company's web site indicates it employs more than 1,000 employees.

Francis said the raid was the result of more than a year-long investigation into Fresh Markand its employees, and whether the company knowingly hired and harbored undocumented workers. He declined to offer further details.

Shortly after the raid began, Fresh Mark confirmed that representatives from the Department of Homeland Security were at its Massillon, Canton and Salem facilities. "We will have more information as it becomes available," spokesperson Brittany Julian said in a statement.

The family-owned company sells meat products, such as bacon, deli ham, lunch meats and sausages under the brands Sugardale, Sugardale Food Service and Superior's Brand Meats to restaurants, delis, grocers and stadiums nationwide.

Francis said some of the workers who were arrested would be taken to detention centers in Michigan and Ohio, while others may be deported immediately. ICE said those who are detained will await removal proceedings. Other workers could potentially be released on humanitarian grounds, say if they are a parent of a young child who doesn't have immediate backup care in place, said Francis. In those cases, they would be given a notice to appear at an immigration court.

Work site raids have escalated dramatically under the Trump administration.

In October 2017, ICE's acting director Tom Homan said he had ordered the agency's investigative unit to increase enforcement actions at businesses by as much as fivefold.

"We're not just talking about arresting the aliens at these work sites, we are also talking about employers who knowingly hire people who are unauthorized to work," Homan said at a press conference in Washington D.C., in December.

So far this year, ICE has arrested more than 600 workers that it alleges were working without proper authorization. That number far exceeds the 172 arrests made in 2017, according to ICE.

Up until Tuesday's raid, the largest raid -- in terms of arrests this year -- happened earlier this month when immigration authorities arrested 114 undocumented immigrants working at an Ohio gardening business.
ICE regularly conducts I-9 audits, which seek to verify whether workers provided proper proof of identification -- such as a driver's license or a Social Security card -- when they were hired. Employers must keep these I-9 forms after they have hired a worker and for a period of time after the employee has left the company.

From October 2017 to May 2018, the agency has carried out 2,282 audits -- almost double the 1,360 audits it conducted the prior year. As a result of these audits and other investigations, the Department of Homeland Security has more than doubled the number of business investigations it has conducted this year.

"It's important that companies know not to willingly participate in the hiring of illegal aliens," said Francis.

Civil penalties for businesses that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants can range from $548 to $21,916 per violation. Repeat offenders and companies hiring a larger number of unauthorized workers receive fines that are on the higher end of the range. Criminal penalties for employing undocumented workers can result in hefty fines and possibly jail time.

ICE's worksite enforcement actions resulted in $97.6 million in fines and forfeitures last year, up from $2 million in 2016. According to ICE, the spike was almost entirely the result of penalties incurred by Asplundh Tree Expert Co., which was fined a total of $95 million.

ICE said it was the largest payment ever levied in a work site case.

The agency does not yet have a tally for financial penalties levied this year.

https://www.abc15.com/news/national/...-meat-supplier

ICE in Ohio arrests 100 during undocumented immigrant raid at meat packing plants

Updated 6:17 PM; Posted 5:25 PM
By Justin Madden, cleveland.com
jmadden@cleveland.com

SALEM, Ohio -- ICE arrested more than 100 undocumented immigrants Tuesday afternoon at a Northeast Ohio-based meat packing plant.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's and Homeland Security agents executed a search warrant about 4 p.m. at the Fresh Mark, a meat processing plant, and arrested more than 100 employees for immigration violations, according to an ICE news release.

The employees were arrested at the meat supplier's Salem location. Search warrants were also executed for documents at the Fresh Mark's two locations in Massillon on Cloverleaf Street and South way Street, authorities said.

Investigators searched a fourth location in the 1600 block of Harmont Avenue North East in Canton, officials said.

Investigators said Fresh Mark hired undocumented immigrants at its processing and packaging plants, and many of them were using fake identities belonging to U.S. citizens, according to a statement from Homeland Security. Agents have been investigating Fresh Mark for a year, officials said.

"Unlawful employment is one of the key magnets drawing illegal aliens across our borders," Homeland Security special agent Steve Francis said in a press release statement.

"Businesses who knowingly harbor and hire illegal aliens as a business model must be held accountable for their actions."

The 100 people who were arrested will be held in facilities in Michigan and Ohio as they await removal proceedings, authorities said. Some of the employees may be released on humanitarian grounds, such as health concerns or the well-being of family members.

Veronica Dahlberg, executive director of Latino advocacy group HOLA Ohio, said majority of the people arrested were from Guatemala.

"Don't let anybody tell you this is about enforcing the law," she said. "This is about decimating the Latino community."

Relatives of those arrested in Tuesday's raid can call the 24-hour detainee locator number to ask questions about the deportation process. The hotline is available in English or Spanish and is at 888-351-4024.

To comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments page.

https://www.abc15.com/news/national/...-meat-supplier

Good!

Arresting ONE company president would do more good.

WE WANT FINES!!! BIG FINES!!! AND WE WANT THE WHOLE FAMILY ROUNDED UP AND DEPORTED...NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND!

STOP TEARING AMERICAN FAMILIES APART WHO SUFFER FROM THE EFFECTS OF ILLEGAL MIGRATION!

ICE arrests 146 undocumented immigrants in Ohio raids at meat-packing plants

Jessie Balmert and Chrissie Thompson, Cincinnati Enquirer
Published 6:41 a.m. ET June 20, 2018 | Updated 11:41 a.m. ET June 20, 2018


(Photo: Provided)


Federal officials arrested 146 undocumented immigrants late Tuesday in raids on meat-packing plants in northeast Ohio – their second large raid in Ohio in seven days.

The workers were arrested Tuesday at meat supplier Fresh Mark's location in Salem, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During the raid, helicopters whirred overhead, and officers from six law enforcement agencies swarmed the plant, the Salem News reported.

The raid was part of a yearlong investigation into allegations that Fresh Mark knowingly hired immigrants in the country illegally. Many immigrants working there were using fake identification belonging to U.S. citizens, ICE said. In total, ICE arrested 98 men and 48 women, mostly from Guatemala, according to spokesman Khaalid Walls.

Most workers arrested Tuesday were transported to facilities in Michigan and Ohio to await removal proceedings. Others were released from custody that day because of humanitarian concerns, such as health or family considerations, ICE said. Walls declined to elaborate.

It was the largest worksite raid nationally in at least a decade, ICE told CNN, as the administration of President Donald Trump cracks down on employers for hiring people in the country illegally.

Last week, federal officials arrested 114 at two locations of Corso's Flower & Garden Center, one in Sandusky and another in nearby Castalia. ICE said charges likely would range from identity theft to tax evasion.

"Unlawful employment is one of the key magnets drawing illegal aliens across our borders," said Steve Francis, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for Michigan and Ohio. "Businesses who knowingly harbor and hire illegal aliens as a business model must be held accountable for their actions."

Authorities have not filed charges against Fresh Mark, but plan to continue investigating the company. "Last night’s action was the opening salvo into the investigation against Fresh Mark," Walls said in an email.

Search warrants were executed Tuesday for documents at Fresh Mark's two locations in Massillon and one in Canton.

Fresh Mark is a member in ICE’s IMAGE program, which stands for ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers. However, IMAGE members are not immune from ICE scrutiny or prosecution for workforce compliance violations.

Fresh Mark confirmed that federal officials visited their four sites Tuesday. The company, in a statement, said it was the first in Ohio to use the voluntary (IMAGE) program, which allows employers to submit additional immigration paperwork to ensure compliance. It started in 2006.

"This program between the U.S. government and private employers ensures a lawful workforce," according to Fresh Mark's statement.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...nts/716953002/

Originally Posted by Text Driving Is Deadly

Arresting ONE company president would do more good.

While we can't ignore the illegals, you're right about going after the ones that are actually responsible for the hiring of the illegal aliens. We need to start setting an example by prosecuting and imprisoning them. Start making that an actual policy instead of the minimal fines that are no more than the cost of doing business and you'll see many employers change their hiring practices.

9/28/17

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1/7/18

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4/3/17

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