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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    ICE carries out largest workplace raid in a decade

    ICE carries out largest workplace raid in a decade: report

    BY JOHN BOWDEN - 04/06/18 03:04 PM EDT
    0

    ICE agents in Tennessee carried out the largest workplace raid in 10 years at a meatpacking plant, The Washington Post reports.

    Ninety-seven undocumented immigrants were arrested Thursday at Southeastern Provision in Grainger County, Tenn., most of whom were from Mexico, according to Tammy Spicer, an ICE spokeswoman.

    Ten were arrested on federal criminal charges, and one on state charges. The remaining 86 were arrested only on suspicion of being in the country illegally, Spicer said.

    Local immigrant advocacy groups said that immigrant populations in the state were frightened by the raid.


    “People are panicked,” said Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition director Stephanie Teatro.

    “People are terrified to drive. People are terrified to leave their homes.”


    Acting ICE director Thomas Homan said last year that the Trump administration would begin targeting employers that hire undocumented immigrants by stepping up workplace raids.


    “Now we’re going to prosecute the employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens,” he said. “We’re going to detain and remove the illegal alien workers.”


    Earlier this year, ICE arrested more than 150 undocumented immigrants over a period of raids in California.


    "We’re going to enforce the laws on the books without apology, we’ll continue to prioritize what we do,” Homan added last year. “But it’s not OK to violate the laws of this country anymore, you’re going to be held accountable.”

    http://thehill.com/latino/382000-ice...-decade-report

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  2. #2
    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.


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  3. #3
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
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    Now get 'em out here.
    A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
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    Moderator Beezer's Avatar
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    VAMANOS!!!
    ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE "BROKEN" OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

    DO NOT REWARD THEM - DEPORT THEM ALL

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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Affidavit details alleged worker exploitation, tax fraud at Grainger Co. plant


    "Those individuals who are determined to be subject to removal will be administratively arrested and placed in removal proceedings, we cannot release specifics on the arrests," according to the statement provided by ICE.

    Author: WBIR
    Published: 4:54 PM EDT April 5, 2018
    Updated: 4:12 PM EDT April 6, 2018

    (Editor's note: We've translated part of this story into Spanish at the end of this article. You can also see a Spanish video version below. Hay una versión en Español a continuación.)

    MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (WBIR) -
    Most people detained Thursday during an ICE raid at a Grainger County meat packing plant are on their way to a detention center to eventually face deportation proceedings, according to a statewide coalition working to secure legal representation for detainees.

    WBIR 10News has also received documentation from the U.S. Department of Justice detailing the investigation leading up the raid at Southeastern Provisions, including the affidavit that names the plant's president and his wife in the investigation among others.


    The affidavit lays out an investigation into the plant, detailing observations in a potential scheme to employ dozens of employees off the books -- all the while exploiting those employees' illegal working status and making them work in unsafe working conditions. The document also mentions employees underreporting their own income to the IRS for their personal gain.


    A family member of one of the detained workers spoke with WBIR, saying her husband made $6 an hour, paid in cash by the company. The investigation leading up to Thursday's raid corroborated accounts from seasoned IRS personnel, as well as an undercover law enforcement operative who posed a worker at the plant for days being paid $10/hour in cash.


    You can read the details of that affidavit below.


    ICE said Homeland Security investigators encountered 97 people during the raid who were subject to removal from the U.S. Of those, 54 were put into detention, 32 were released from custody, 10 were arrested on federal criminal charges, and one was arrested on state charges.


    According to Stephanie Teatro, the co-director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, the majority of people detained Thursday are on their way to a regional detention facility in Louisiana where they will eventually face deportation proceedings.

    Affected families can locate those detained at this link.

    Teatro said those released Thursday night either had legal status to reside in the U.S. or young children to take care of.

    For those who were taken to the detention facility, Teatro said her organization is working to find them legal representation and support for their families.


    "Hundreds of families have been devastated here in this area," she said. "We've been overwhelmed with people who want to help. We're hoping to coordinate volunteer services as well."


    Teatro said the raid sent a "wave of fear" across the community, saying its impact will likely last for many months to years.


    The TIRRC said outside immediate legal representation, it's working to partner with local businesses and schools to coordinate support and help for families.


    Lawyers and translators were at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on Friday to help people understand their rights and to provide guidance on what they can do going forward.

    Affidavit Details What Led Up to Raid

    ICE released the affidavit that led to a search warrant at Southeastern Provisions, the meat packing plant at the center of the investigation.

    The documents name four people involved with making weekly cash bank transactions starting in 2008 that exceeded $25 million, according to an IRS investigation. That cash was reportedly stored in a vault within the plant and used to pay employees.


    “The investigation began after federal authorities became aware of financial transactions involving Southeastern Provisions bank accounts at Citizens Bank," the affidavit said. "Bank personnel began noticing large amounts of cash being withdrawn from the Southeastern Provisions bank accounts. The cash withdrawals happened on a weekly basis.”


    Those named in the investigation include James Brantley, the president and general manager of Southeastern Provisions, as well as his wife Pamela, their daughter Kelsey and another employee named Priscilla Keck, documents state.


    James Brantley and others are accused in the affidavit of willfully attempting to evade or defeat payment of federal employment taxes, unlawfully employing Illegal aliens, willfully failing to to collect and pay federal employment taxes, and filing false tax returns.

    One affiant in the document was a special agent with the IRS assigned out of Johnson City who said bank personnel informed them that they were given a tour of the plant by Pamela Brantley. She allegedly revealed during the tour that employees were Hispanic and paid weekly in cash.


    Also mentioned in the affidavit is a confidential informant working for law enforcement who worked undercover at the plant for four days.


    The informant said he was never asked to complete paperwork or provide ID/documentation before being hired, and was told "not to worry" about using his real name -- which the document said confirmed the informant did not need to have a lawful identity to work at the plant.


    The informant said he was hired on the spot and began working in spring 2017 -- getting paid $10 per hour weekly in cash. The informant said other workers at the plant supposedly made the same wage -- having to sign their names and mark hours worked into a log at the end of each day. However, one family member of a detained worker told WBIR her husband was only paid $6 an hour in cash.


    The informant said many of the employees only spoke Spanish, noting nearly all of the employees he saw were Hispanic. Another unnamed meat processing plant in the area was identified by law enforcement where several of the employees reportedly used to work at but were fired because their identification paperwork was fraudulent.


    Records also note that the informant saw production workers who were required to work overtime, but not compensated additionally for overtime hours due to the nature of their employment. The informant also said he saw employees working with harsh chemicals without appropriate protective equipment. The informant reportedly captured surveillance footage covertly as well.


    An investigation into false tax returns revealed in the affidavit there was probable cause that Southeastern Provisions paid approximately $8,421,210 in wages not reported to the IRS between 2013 and 2016 based on the cash withdrawals. The total wages/contract labor reported between those years ($2,470,825) were far less than the actual wages suspected to have been paid based on aggregate cash withdrawals ($10,891,677).

    Further investigation into the wages of a handful of legally hired employees determined Southeastern Provisions "grossly underreported" wages for those few employees -- pointing to the Brantleys' and others' personal income tax returns that did not include payments received in cash.

    Some on-record employees in certain supervisory roles were even reported on W-2 filings to have made roughly $9 an hour, which was less than the $10 the unreported employees made. The investigation said, based on experience, these employees typically make more than that amount in similar positions.


    ORIGINAL STORY
    :


    Dozens of people gathered outside the National Guard Armory in Morristown after federal agents executed a search warrant looking for people who may be in the country illegally.

    A Channel 10 reporter was given a written statement by an ICE agent outside the armory, located on East Andrew Johnson Highway in Morristown.


    The statement said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol executed a federal criminal search warrant Thursday. It did not say where the warrant was served, but a local pastor told 10News it was Southeastern Provision in Grainger County.


    According to the statement, Homeland Security Investigations encountered individuals who may be subject to removal from the United States. If families need more information on specific individuals, it can be found on ICE's detainee locator online.


    "Those individuals who are determined to be subject to removal will be administratively arrested and placed in removal proceedings, we cannot release specifics on the arrests," according to the statement provided by ICE.


    Veronica Galvan, a leader in the local church community, said she has talked to several families who had been impacted, and up to 150 people may have been taken to the to be questioned by authorities. She told 10News that she had seen only 11 people come out so far.

    Hamblen County school officials said they had several children that were impacted by Thursday’s events.


    Superintendent Dr. Jeff Perry told 10News that some staff had to stay late to ensure that students got home safely or were picked up by a trusted adult, and bus drivers were instructed to make sure someone was home before they dropped them off. Dr. Perry said that all of the children involved are now safe with a family member or friend.


    En español:




    VIDEO: En español: Several detained after ICE, other agencies execute search warrant

    As Thursday night went on, people moved from Russellville Elementary to St. Patrick Catholic Church. Families returned to their homes for the night, but the church set up bedding, food and charging stations for families.


    For those that were released Thursday night, a bus was on standby to take them from the Armory to the church.

    The Armory is across the street from Russellville Elementary. The ride from the Armory to the church is roughly 12 minutes.

    https://www.wbir.com/article/news/cr...t/51-535625793

    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 Judy's Avatar
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    Teatro said those released Thursday night either had legal status to reside in the U.S. or young children to take care of
    Children are no excuse. You go get the kids and lock 'em up with the parents for deportation as a single unit.
    A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
    Save America, Deport Congress! - Judy

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  7. #7
    Administrator ALIPAC's Avatar
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    This is more good news coming in!
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  8. #8
    Super Moderator GeorgiaPeach's Avatar
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    Naturally, the George Soros funded TIRRC is asked for comment and continues the drama. There are many more chicken, meat processing plants and other businesses in Tennessee using illegal labor. Usually some fugitives in the raids.

    Several raids would encourage an exodus from the state for some. ICE needs to ramp up these efforts.
    Last edited by GeorgiaPeach; 04-06-2018 at 04:58 PM.
    Matthew 19:26
    But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
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  9. #9
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    Good News starting to come in....
    https://www.alipac.us/f8/good-news-s...g-come-357485/


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  10. #10
    Super Moderator GeorgiaPeach's Avatar
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    ICE raids Grainger County meatpacking plant amid charges owners avoided $2.5M in payroll taxes


    April 6, 2018

    Travis Dorman and Jamie Satterfield


    The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) has landed in some hot water after releasing private information from the agency’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (or VOICE). For more on the story here is Zachary Devita/ Buzz60




    Federal agents raided a Bean Station, Tennessee slaughterhouse Thursday after a months-long probe into allegations the owners were paying undocumented immigrants cash to avoid paying $2.5 million in payroll taxes in three years, federal court records show.



    Agents raided Southeastern Provisions, a cattle slaughterhouse on Helton Road in Grainger County, as part of a probe into myriad claims of tax evasion and fraud involving millions of dollars in unpaid taxes in a scheme that could stretch back a decade.



    IRS Criminal Investigation Agent Nicholas R. Worsham wrote in a search warrant affidavit that James Brantley and his wife, Pamela Brantley, who own the slaughterhouse and meat-packing firm, have been hiring undocumented immigrants since 2008 and hiding it from the IRS.



    Worsham also alleges the Brantleys used their daughter and other employees in their fraud, lied to the IRS about how much they paid themselves and American employees, filed false tax returns and exploited its largely Hispanic and undocumented work force.



    The Brantleys are not charged, though. They could not be reached for comment Friday, and it’s not clear from court records if they have hired an attorney.



    The U.S. Attorney’s Office is declining to comment on the raid or ongoing probe. Agents seized a slew of documents, electronics and computer hard drives, a search warrant return showed.


    97 people found inside, 10 arrested


    ICE officials reported 97 people were found inside the slaughterhouse when agents and Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers raided it. ICE said in a statement that “10 of those encountered were arrested on federal criminal charges.”
    But there were no federal warrants or indictments related to the raid filed in the U.S. District Court electronic filing system Friday afternoon.


    ICE said 86 people were held pursuant to an administrative hold to check immigration status. Of those, 54 were detained for further immigration proceedings.


    The agency gave no other details about the raid or the detainees.


    Worsham’s affidavit showed the plant owners and a handful of legal workers are the targets of the probe. It was Citizens Bank, where the Brantleys held accounts, that first tipped authorities to possible fraud, his affidavit showed.


    “Bank personnel began noticing large amounts of cash being withdrawn from the Southeastern Provisions bank accounts,” the affidavit stated. “The cash withdrawals occurred on a weekly basis.”


    Worsham later confirmed the Brantleys had withdrawn more than $25 million in cash since 2008 and told bank personnel they used the money “for payroll.” Although it’s not clear why, bank personnel “conducted a site visit” at the plant in December 2016 and learned the Brantleys had installed a vault to keep cash.


    Agents later surveilled the Brantleys and employees as they made those weekly cash withdrawals. Worsham said the Brantleys withdrew $10.9 million in cash from 2013 to 2016 but only reported to the IRS paying workers $2.5 million.
    The $8.4 million difference between what they actually paid workers in those three years and what they reported they paid means they pocketed $2.5 million in unpaid taxes, Worsham alleged.


    The investigation


    In May 2017, agents used an undocumented immigrant, labeled CI-1 in Worsham’s affidavit, to gather more evidence against the Brantleys. He was working as an informant for local law enforcement when agents asked him to get a job at the Brantleys’ slaughterhouse.


    He was hired without providing any documents, such as driver’s license or social security card, the agent wrote. CI-1 was offered a supervisor’s job on the spot because he spoke Spanish and English, the agent wrote.


    He was paid $10 per hour. His pay – given in cash – was handed to him in an envelope at the end of the work week, the affidavit stated.


    He provided agents with intelligence about what he saw. He said there were dozens of Hispanic workers who were being paid in cash. They were forced to work overtime without pay, the affidavit stated, and exposed to hazardous chemicals without protective gear.


    Many had been fired from another meat-packing plant in Morristown because of their lack of documentation of legal status, the affidavit stated.


    The informant later snared video for the agents, Worsham wrote.


    Immigrant advocacy groups cry foul


    Advocacy groups on Friday decried the raid’s impact on undocumented immigrants.


    The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition complained in a statement the workers “reported rough treatment and detention despite having work authorization.” ICE contends the detained workers did not have work authorization records.


    “Children were left without primary caretakers, and local churches have provided sanctuary for dozens of others,” the group said in a release.


    Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the group, blamed the Trump administration in the release.


    “Our communities have lived under intense fear since the Trump administration began, and this raid – coupled with local law enforcement involvement – will send shockwaves across the country,” she said.


    ICE said families of detained workers could check their status through the agency’s web portal.


    Septic system failure


    Southeastern Provision has a history of sanitation and safety violations. In March, the plant's septic system failed, leading to the contamination of well water in the area with coliform and E. coli bacteria.


    The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation ordered the plant to shut down its underground wastewater system and haul its waste to an offsite treatment facility.
    State officials provided well sampling to 12 households that "had the potential to be impacted," said TDEC spokeswoman Kim Schofinski.

    Residents were forced to use bottled water as authorities worked to help them install treatment or tie onto public water systems.


    "TDEC continues to provide technical expertise and oversight assistance at the facility," Schofinski said.


    Representatives for Southeastern Provision could not be reached for comment Friday.


    A citizenship question has been reinstated into the 2020 census by the Commerce Department.


    https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...nty/490673002/


    Last edited by GeorgiaPeach; 04-06-2018 at 05:53 PM.
    Matthew 19:26
    But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
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