Thread: MI: Illegal alien drowns, five others deported

Illegal alien drowns, five others deported

Thursday, June 21, 2007
THE SAGINAW NEWS

BAD AXE -- Police were investigating the Wednesday drowning of an illegal alien from Mexico who could not swim but apparently jumped off the breakwater at Port Austin.

An investigation led to the deportation of his five companions, all illegal aliens from Mexico.

About 5:20 p.m., members of the Huron County Sheriff's Dive Team and Marine Division found the body of Jose Martin Lopez Cruz, 17, in 12 feet of water in Saginaw Bay, said Sheriff Kent D. Tibbits.

Cruz and his companions were walking along the breakwater when several of them decided to jump in, they told police.

When Cruz surfaced, he began waving his arms, yelling for help. Three companions tried to rescue him, but the current pulled him away before they could reach him, they told police. Cruz surfaced two more times before disappearing about

75 feet from where he entered the water, they said.

The six men, age 16 to 33, worked at the VerHaar Dairy Farm along Soper just outside Bad Axe, police said. Police said none of the men could speak English and did not have green cards or Social Security cards. v


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an illegal alien from Mexico who could not swim but apparently jumped off the breakwater at Port Austin.

Does this mean we can expect the ACLU to file a lawsuit on behalf of the family of this idiot, suing the city for not posting a sign in spanish warning everyone that if you cannot swim you should not jump into the water? -- Jaded

Does this mean we can expect the ACLU to file a lawsuit on behalf of the family of this idiot, suing the city for not posting a sign in spanish warning everyone that if you cannot swim you should not jump into the water? -- Jade

Why, its not like you or any of us would be suprised if they did.

Police were investigating the Wednesday drowning of an illegal alien from Mexico who could not swim but apparently jumped off the breakwater at Port Austin.

An investigation led to the deportation of his five companions, all illegal aliens from Mexico.

Talk about inconsistencies regarding the deportation of illegals. Over 100 illegals were arrested in New Haven, Conn. recently. Most of those arrested will be released on bond (you know, catch & release). Supposedly their court dates won't be until October. Why can't illegals deeper into our interior be deported as quickly as those closer to the border?

More illegal immigrants found at Thumb farm
Friday, June 22, 2007
By TOM GILCHRIST
TIMES WRITER
BAD AXE - Police said federal agents on Thursday hauled away five more alleged illegal immigrants who worked at the same massive dairy farm where agents seized 13 alleged illegal immigrants in May.

Troopers from the Michigan State Police post at Bad Axe claim they discovered the five illegal Mexican workers after a sixth illegal immigrant - 17-year-old Jose Martin Lopez Cruz - drowned after jumping off the Port Austin breakwall into Lake Huron on Wednesday afternoon.

''Those five workers are being deported, and the sixth will be transported back to Mexico in a coffin,'' said Detective Sgt. Mark Krebs, who began investigating the farm of Johannes and Anthonia VerHaar in February.

''I thought the day we went out there, we arrested the only 13 people the VerHaars had who were working illegally,'' Krebs said. ''But I was told by these five immigrants on Wednesday that they came here within the last few weeks to the last couple months to fill the job openings at the VerHaar farm.

''That leads me to believe that because of what we did a few months ago - seizing those 13 workers - the call was made to have these guys come and take their place.''

Huron County Sheriff's Department divers said they recovered Cruz's body at 5:20 p.m. in 12 feet of water. A spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department said police believe the death was an accident, though county Medical Examiner Dr. Richard Lockard ordered an autopsy on the victim's body.

Krebs said Johannes ''John'' VerHaar and his wife, Anthonia ''Anja'' VerHaar, are not U.S. citizens, but natives of the Netherlands who obtained temporary work visas to enter the United States.

The Times could not reach the VerHaars for comment. In recent weeks, the couple has declined comment about the investigation of their hiring practices, bookkeeping procedures or workers.

According to state police, the VerHaars claimed the 13 workers arrested in May were legal immigrants.

However, 11 of the 13 workers seized in the May 8 raid at the VerHaar farm - along Soper Road near Bad Axe - didn't challenge their deportation and received a free flight back to Mexico, according to Greg Palmore of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Two of the 13 still remain in ICE custody, awaiting hearings before an immigration judge, Palmore said on Wednesday.

Wednesday's arrest of the five alleged illegal immigrants marked the third arrest of a group of alleged illegal immigrants in Huron County in three months. In mid-March, police arrested 13 suspected illegal Mexican immigrants who had worked on the farm of Brian J. Ingram, along Grindstone Road near Port Austin.

The Times has been unable to confirm how many of Ingram's workers were deported to Mexico.

Palmore said on Thursday that ICE officials had not confirmed that the five men taken into custody on Wednesday worked for the VerHaars.

But Krebs said the men - ages 16, 20, 21, 23 and 33 - told him they would not fight deportation. State police used an interpreter to question the men, who didn't speak English.

''They told me they had no green cards (permitting them to work in the U.S.), they had no Social Security numbers and they didn't want a hearing before an immigration judge,'' Krebs said.

But Krebs said a pay stub possessed by one of the five workers showed - at least on paper - that the VerHaars had withheld Social Security taxes in the man's name.

''It will be up to the VerHaars to explain why these workers ended up on their farm again without any paperwork proving they were here legally,'' Krebs said. ''It's a U.S. immigration violation - a federal crime - to hire illegal workers.''

Krebs said it's the job of federal prosecutors, working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to determine whether to bring criminal charges in the case.

Palmore said ICE - the Department of Homeland Security's investigative agency - continues probing the VerHaar farm operation. He declined further comment about the investigation.

''It's a crime if the farm's workers are illegal, but there are ways employers can go about securing the appropriate documents for such individuals to become employed,'' Palmore said.

Krebs said one of the five Mexicans arrested by Trooper Dan Thompson on Wednesday - a 16-year-old - told state police he paid someone 17,000 Mexican pesos - $1,571 American dollars - to smuggle him from Reynosa, Mexico, into the United States.

According to Krebs, the 16-year-old said that once he made it into the U.S., he paid $1,100 American dollars to his ''coyote'' - the person who took him to his job at the VerHaar farm.

Krebs said a 33-year-old Mexican worker arrested following Wednesday's drowning told police he paid $3,000 to the coyote to transport him to his job with the VerHaars.

''They pay substantial amounts of money for the coyote to get them to the VerHaar farm, but they said they couldn't remember the name of the guy who brought them here, or what type of vehicle brought them to Michigan,'' Krebs said.


- Tom Gilchrist covers the Thumb for The Times. He can be reached at (989) 894-9649 or by e-mail at: tgilchrist@bc-times.com.






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