Thread: Union describes ICE raid on Swift as overblown

Union describes ICE raid on Swift as overblown



Chris Casey, (Bio) ccasey@greeleytrib.com
December 16, 2006


While union representatives blasted the Swift & Co. raid as an overblown "identity theft scheme," law enforcement officials said the crackdown targeted legitimate theft cases.

The cases are so widespread, they say, the workload is straining resources to process the detainees. Additional criminal charges will be forthcoming as the 1,300 detained Swift workers nationwide -- and 261 from the Greeley plants -- are interviewed, officials said.

But Ernest L. Duran Jr., president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, the union for the Greeley plant workers, said at a Friday press conference that the raids resulted in only a "handful of legitimate arrests."

The union argued that only 10 people in Colorado have faced advisement hearings so far. Five detainees appeared at the Weld County Courthouse Thursday, followed by five more on Friday.

"ID theft is just government spin aimed at covering brutal immigration raids," Duran said.

Ken Buck, Weld district attorney, on Friday said all of the 261 workers arrested in Greeley were being held on suspicion of some form of identity theft.

"We're just prosecuting the ones where we knew we had a complaint from a victim, and knew that victim would come testify at trial," he said.

That number comes to 37, Buck said. Those victims had notified the Federal Trade Commission that their identification had been stolen by someone working at Swift. They typically learned of the connection after being contacted by the Internal Revenue Service or a credit reporting agency.

The day before Tuesday's raids, Buck's office filed 25 arrest warrants for Swift workers in Greeley suspected of forgery and criminal impersonation. His office was prepared to book 12 other workers if they hadn't been picked up in the sweep.

He said he's not sure how many more criminal violations will be filed. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continue interviewing detainees in Colorado and other the other five states involved in the crackdown.

"We couldn't take on 265 identity cases (at once). We don't have the resources," Buck said. "There's a resource reality to doing these cases ... The whole idea in law enforcement is do some cases and send the message to the rest of the people."

Butch "Fidel" Montoya, coordinator of Confianza, a group of Latino pastors, said ICE proved itself "incompetent" with its 10-month investigation.

http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/2006 ... /112160098

The president of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 7 said:

"ID theft is just government spin aimed at covering brutal immigration raids," Duran said.

Immigration raids? Brutal? Who is using spin? Illegal alien raids is more like it. What does the union have to say to those people who have had their social security #'s used illegally?

Is'nt it incredible the lengths people will go to in order to justify and cover illegal activity and than try to portray the perpetrators as the victims? It is insanity!