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  1. #1
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Raid shines glaring light on illegal immigration

    http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/2006 ... /112130086

    Raid shines glaring light on illegal immigration

    Tribune Opinion
    December 13, 2006

    There are a lot of hurting families in Weld County today. The impact of Tuesday's immigration raid at Swift & Co.'s beef-packing plant in north Greeley will be far-reaching. We need a few days to assess who will face the consequences of someone else's criminal behavior.

    But today, one thing is clear -- illegal immigrants were employed at Swift with the aid of false identification documentation.

    In 1999, Swift became part of the federal Basic Pilot program, an online verification system that allows employers to confirm the eligibility of new hires by checking personal information against federal data bases. There's a flaw in this voluntary program, however. It limits an employer's ability to investigate the background of new hires. In fact, a company can be punished for probing too deeply into an applicant's past.

    Swift leaders say they've been playing by the book and even accuse the federal government of violating an agreement made when the meat processing giant took on the Basic Pilot program.

    Still, Tuesday's action by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents -- along with Greeley police and Weld County Sheriff's deputies -- underscores the necessity for employers to be aggressive in verifying employees' legality.

    ICE agents descended not only on Greeley but in five other U.S. towns where Swift plants are located. The operation was the result of a 10-month investigation into an identity-theft setup that allowed Swift applicants to falsify hiring documents.

    The question remains how much Swift executives knew, if anything, about the activity that paved the way for illegal immigrants to be employed at its plants.

    But what we learned on Tuesday alone is cause for major concern. And all Weld County businesses, all Colorado businesses, all U.S. businesses are now on notice: Verifying the legal status of potential workers is not simple. And the evil of identity theft only exacerbates the problem. With nearly 300 Greeley workers facing deportation, that means there could be 300 honest Americans facing the spidery mess of clearing their names and of attempting to rectify Social Security records, unpaid taxes, credit reports, etc.

    Something had to be done. We're glad the government finally stepped in.

    For several years now, Americans have beseeched federal officials to curtail the influx of illegal aliens to the United States. The issue has became blanketed in racist epithets and extremist reactions -- from both the left and the right -- seriously dividing our nation and stirring up hatred.

    Many states, out of frustration, have taken the matter into their own hands by passing laws focused on curtailing the problem. In November, Coloradans approved Referendum H, a sensible measure that tells businesses to verify that their employees are authorized to work in the United States. If employers are found to have knowingly hired illegal workers, then those businesses will forfeit a state tax deduction for those employees. Unfortunately, this law does not take effect until 2008. Plus, its now obvious that employers can no longer afford to rely on simple forms of identification. Do not be naive about identify theft. It's prevalent and subversive.

    Big corporations and small businesses alike must act now to implement stringent procedures to identify illegal immigrants. We ask state and federal officials to step in and address this growing double-edged crime. U.S. citizens are desperate for results.

    Meanwhile, we must remember there will be fallout from Tuesday's raid that will affect us all. Children are without parents. Families are without breadwinners. And our community faces the possibility of a serious economic downturn.

    So, while most Weld residents may have wanted the federal government to do something about illegal immigration, now that it has happened we must back up our stance and face the natural consequences by supporting the innocents.

    Striking that balance will be delicate but key to recovery.
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    MW
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    Senior Member MW's Avatar
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    Swift leaders say they've been playing by the book and even accuse the federal government of violating an agreement made when the meat processing giant took on the Basic Pilot program.
    I wonder what sort of backroom agreement the federal government made with Swift? Anyone have any information on this so-called deal? The federal government shouldn't be making deals that allows illegal immigrants immunity from apprehension and/or prosecution! Just because Swift entered the Basic Pilot program does not give them a free ticket to ignore all other evidence that may indicate a hire is an illegal immigrant. The Basic Pilot program is not fail proof and the large number of illegals working at Swift prove that! The program certainly does nothing to identify those guilty of identity theft.

    "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" ** Edmund Burke**

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts athttps://eepurl.com/cktGTn

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