N.C. Illegal aliens facing deportation sue ex-employer (update)
Illegal immigrants facing deportation sue ex-employer
Their attorney seeks to cancel their removal from the U.S
http://edgecast.sdr-files.buscafs.co...1704_630.jpg?1EFE Agency.by EFE Agency
December 4 2012
CHARLOTTE, NC. - A group of Latino workers who were arrested in a raid by Immigration in North Carolina in 2011 and are currently facing deportation, filed a lawsuit against their former employer for bad working conditions and wages.
The lawsuit was filed against the restaurant Shogun Hibachi Buffet & Grill, located in Asheville which is on the west part of the state.
In the lawsuit owner Sandy Wang Jian Qing is also accused of making these ex-employees work for six days a week averaging 12 hours day, a total of 72 hours per week, and earning less than the minimum wage salary of $ 7.25 per hour.
These employees were paid about $ 750 every two weeks, which is about $ 5.21 per hour and sometimes even less and received no compensation for overtime.
workers also claim that they were forced to work in "deplorable" conditions throughout their shifts.
Although several detainees were released on parole and were not asked to pay any type of bail amount to immigration, their deportation proceeding has already began.
Steve Agan who is the attorney for these workers, said that the defendants took advantage of these people in part because of their irregular status in the country.
An investigation done by the Department of Labor resulted in compensation for some back pay for these workers, but the current lawsuit seeks to recover all of the money under the wage and hourly rate of North Carolina law.
As for the immigration status of these workers, who come from El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala, Elizabeth Simpson who is also one of the lawyers for this group told the media that they have requested for ICE to implement some "discretion" in regards to their clients.
Simpson seeks to cancel the deportations of these five Latino workers, under the criteria that they are not a priority for immigration authorities.
These immigrants have until January 16, 2013, to resolve their immigration status which is the deadline for them to leave the country.
Editorial@sandiegored.com
http://www.sandiegored.com/noticias/31704/Illegal-immigrants-facing-deportation-sue-ex-employer/
3 face deportation deadline
10:52 PM, Jan 14, 2013
Written by
Romando Dixson
citizen-times.com
http://cmsimg.citizen-times.com//app...&Maxh=410&q=60
Flor Funes, one of the 'Shogun 5' who face possible deportation after an ICE raid at the Shogun Buffet & Hibachi Grill in 2011, speaks alongside members of Defensa Comunitaria and other supporters in front of U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's office in Asheville.
ASHEVILLE — Undocumented immigrant Flor Funes is potentially a day from being sent back to her country and separated from her husband.
Funes, one of 12 workers detained at Shogun Buffet and Hibachi Grill, is asking U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan to step in and prevent her deportation. She and her supporters rallied outside Hagan’s downtown Asheville office to bring attention to her plight and that of four others in deportation proceedings.
Funes and two other former Shogun workers face a deadline of Wednesday to leave the country. Funes supports her husband here and her mother in El Salvador and fears going back to the violence in her country.
“We want them to close our immigration cases in a way that helps us and our families,” she said. “We want action.”
On Nov. 29, 2011, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 12 workers at Shogun. Two of those workers have been deported, according to a group that has been working with the former restaurant employees.
“We’ve been waiting for such a long time for her to take a stand,” Loida Ginocchio-Silva, a community activist and undocumented immigrant, said of Hagan. “I mean, she is the senator of North Carolina, and we have to, a lot of times, call other senators in other states to take action, and we can’t count on our own senator.
“We live here. We don’t have the papers, but we are citizens of North Carolina. We need her to stand up for us as well.”
Funes, along with a few of her community supporters, spoke Monday with a member of Hagan’s staff at her downtown office to explain the urgency of the situation. Ginocchio-Silva said the staff member said he would pass along the message to Hagan’s offices in Greensboro and Washington.
About 20 people rallied outside Hagan’s office on Patton Avenue. They rotated through several chants, including “Hagan, we’re here! We won’t live in fear!”
“It is important that the senator takes specific steps and takes a stand for their case,” Ginocchio-Silva said. “So far, what she’s done is only called to inquire about their cases, but she hasn’t taken a stand and that’s what we’re asking for. Throughout the years, she has been saying that she supports comprehensive immigration reform. But she hasn’t done anything for that.”
Ginocchio-Silva said Hagan has the power to stop the deportations by issuing a signed letter of support or directly contacting ICE.
“Throughout the country, senators and congressmen have made last-minute phone calls to stop deportations of their constituents,” she said. “So, she does have the power to do it. She just doesn’t have the courage.”
Sadie Weiner, communications director for Hagan in Washington, said via email that the office does not comment on individual constituent cases.
“In general, Senator Hagan supports prioritizing the use of the federal government’s limited resources on those individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety,” Weiner said.
Funes said she and her supporters plan to return to Hagan’s Asheville office at 10 a.m. today if they do not hear from her about a decision. Time is running out.
“If she was in our situation, she would know how terrifying it is to think about being separated from her family,” Funes said.
http://www.citizen-times.com/article...ation-deadline
