http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.as ... b294c2565f



Illegal immigrants facing federal charges

Last Update: 12/20/2006 11:04:22 PM


Serious federal charges are starting to come after the raid of the swift meat packing plant in Hyrum. A federal grand jury indicted more than a dozen people and one is still a fugitive. They're accused of either stealing the identities of u-s citizens to manufacture false ones or using those fake identifications to get jobs.

There are still a lot of people coming to the defense of these immigrants. At a rally in front of the federal building, protestors said the government's behavior in detaining 152 workers at the Swift meatpacking plant in Hyrum was inhumane.
One protestor said, "It's terrible... it happens right before Christmas, they're left destitute.

A minister at the protest said, "The ones that they've arrested are not the ones that are going to do us damage. That's what befuddles me."

Across the street from the protest, local members of the minutemen said the illegals deserve the prosecution, not just for gaining illegal entrance into the country but stealing identities of U-S citizens.

A minutemen leader said, "These people who took the identities, put their kids in that situation, and they need to be held accountable for their lawlessness."

And according to the U-S attorney in Utah, the crimes against many of them are quite serious. A grand jury indicted two of the detainees for creating more than a hundred false I-D's for workers at the packing plant, using stolen social security numbers. One of those suspects is still on the run and some of the victims of identity theft are Utahns.

U-S Attorney Brett Tolman says, "Its most important to stop the flood of aggravated identity theft. The way to do that is if you're going after those that may be vending in these documents."