Advocates: Workers allege sexual abuse
By JENNIFER JACOBS • jejacobs@dmreg.com • May 20, 2008

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Reports that there was an expectation of sexual favors at Agriprocessors Inc. are beginning to emerge from workers at the Postville meat processing plant, and advocates for immigrants are trying to document the stories.

Sister Mary McCauley, a Roman Catholic nun at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville, said workers have said that "there was sexual abuse, that there's propositioning."

She said she didn't hear any of the stories firsthand but that others passed along the information to her.


If a worker wanted, say, a promotion or a shift change, "they'd be brought into a room with three or four men and it was like, 'Which one do you want? Which one are you going to serve? " McCauley said Monday in an interview with Des Moines Register editors and reporters.

"Unfortunately, they are grateful for some of their ESL classes, and they knew what some of those words meant," she said. "If they had the courage, they could refuse it."

Chaim Abrahams, an Agriprocessors representative, declined to address the allegation of sexual favors in exchange for job-related requests.

"As with any legal matter, Agriprocessors cannot comment about any specific allegation," Abrahams said in a written statement. "The company is performing an independent investigation and will continue to cooperate with the government about this matter."

Federal agents' raid at Agriprocessors on May 12 was the largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history. Arrest warrants were issued for 697 people who work at the plant.

Agents detained 389 people in Waterloo; of those, 306 were charged with fraud-related felonies for using fake documents to obtain a job. A total of 62 people were temporarily released for humanitarian reasons, such as child care, but they must appear in court soon.

In the Register interview, McCauley said workers say there is "definitely" one person in the area selling Social Security numbers.

That raises questions about these workers' role in committing fraud, said Tom Chapman, an advocate for immigrants and executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference.

The workers, who speak mainly Spanish, were probably not sophisticated enough to steal or create their own fake identity documents, said Armando Villareal, the administrator for the state Division of Latino Affairs.

"I don't think they have Apple computers in their apartments with laser printers," Villareal said.

Meanwhile, McCauley said she's seen a new confidence in some of the immigrant women.

Most of those released on humanitarian grounds must wear an ankle bracelet that contains an electronic tracking device. Upon their release from detention, they wore long pants to conceal the GPS device, McCauley said.

"Yesterday, they had their pants legs rolled up to their knees," she said. "You could see that they were gaining some strength within themselves."


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