Thread: TX: Firings fuel talk of crackdown on illegal migrants

Firings fuel talk of crackdown on illegal migrants

By JAY ROOT

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Reports that the country's largest chicken-processing company has begun firing undocumented workers in East Texas have business leaders and immigration experts bracing for a nationwide crackdown on employers that hire illegal aliens.
Pilgrim's Pride, a Fortune 500 company that processes 44 million birds a week, confirmed Tuesday that it has recently terminated employees at its plants in Lufkin and Nacogdoches, but officials won't give numbers or reasons. Advocates for the workers estimate that the company has already fired more than 100 people who can't produce valid Social Security numbers.

"Large layoffs is what I'm hearing," said Linda Morales, a Stephen F. Austin State University professor in Nacogdoches who assists migrant families. "It wasn't Pilgrim's that decided to do this. I think it was some kind of warning they got ... about hiring people who don't have documentation."

Millions of workers nationwide could be affected if the beefed-up federal enforcement is carried out as some anticipate, said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the Manhattan Institute in Washington, a conservative think tank..

A major impetus for the crackdown is that the Department of Homeland Security is expected to finalize a regulation soon that puts more teeth in the employer-sanction law. That change could lead to fines of up to $10,000 per employee against companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The rule would basically change the definition of knowingly and would put much more of the onus on employers to rectify discrepancies over Social Security numbers, experts say.

Issued last year, the proposed regulation was left pending while Congress attempted to pass a comprehensive immigration-reform bill.

Since the effort collapsed, business leaders have been expecting the long-pending rule to come out "any day," said Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business. Hammond said he believes the firings are "in anticipation of this rule."

"There are a lot of employees in Texas, some say 1.2 million to 1.5 million, who are undocumented workers," Hammond said. "A lot of them could be out of the work force over the next six to 12 months."

Pat Reilly, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, confirmed that the proposed rule, known as ICEB-2006-0004, was awaiting final action.

Gary Rhodes, a spokesman for Pilgrim's Pride, would not say whether the threat of new regulations prompted the recent firings, describing the issue as an internal personnel matter.

Morales said her 300-member Centro Cristiano Familiar church has seen a huge impact from the firings already. She estimated that more than 100 adults, many of them longtime residents with deep ties, had lost jobs.

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/180110.html

so are you saying that attrition through enforcement works? OMG! no way! get out!

"There are a lot of employees in Texas, some say 1.2 million to 1.5 million, who are undocumented workers," Hammond said. "A lot of them could be out of the work force over the next six to 12 months."

Americans and legal citizens come and get your jobs back! yippee! Illegals I heard there is plenty of work in New Haven!

Yes! Yes! Yes!
It's about darn time!

All those people marching in the streets of Dallas came from Pilgrim's Pride.

Let the chruch take them and keep them just as long as they can afford them and then they will send them packing.

Dixie
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Impending crackdown on illegals suspected
By JAY ROOT
jroot@star-telegram.com
Reports that the country's largest chicken processing company has begun firing undocumented workers in East Texas have business leaders and immigration experts bracing for a nationwide crackdown on employers who hire illegal aliens.

Pilgrim’s Pride, a Fortune 500 company that processes 44 million birds a week, confirmed Tuesday that it has recently terminated employees at its plants in Lufkin and Nacogdoches, but officials won't give numbers or reasons. Advocates for the workers estimate the company has already fired more than 100 people who can't produce valid Social Security numbers.

"Large layoffs is what I'm hearing," said Linda Morales, a Stephen F. Austin State University professor in Nacogdoches who assists migrant families. "It wasn't Pilgrim's that decided to do this. I think it was some kind of warning they got ... about hiring people who don't have documentation."

Experts say the firings underscore widespread concerns that federal authorities, often criticized for failing to punish employers who hire illegals, are about to embark on a major worksite crackdown.

"Tip of the iceberg doesn't even get it," said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the Manhattan Institute in Washington, a conservative think tank. "It's like if a plague were coming and (Pilgrim's) is the first person coughing. This is going to be really bad."

She said millions of workers nationwide could be impacted if the beefed-up federal enforcement is carried out as some anticipate.

Proposed rule

A major impetus for rising fears: the expectation that the Department of Homeland Security will soon complete a regulation that puts more teeth in the employer sanction law -- which can lead to fines of up to $10,000 per employee against companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The rule as currently designed would basically change the definition of "knowingly" and would put much more of the onus on employers to rectify discrepancies that arise over Social Security numbers, experts say.

Issued last year, the proposed regulation was left pending while Congress attempted to pass a comprehensive immigration reform package, which was controversial in part because it included limited amnesty for many workers already here.

Since the effort collapsed, business leaders have been expecting the long-pending rule to come out "any day," said Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business. Hammond, a friend of Pilgrim's founder Bo Pilgrim, stressed that he can't speak for the company. But Hammond said he believes the firings are "in anticipation of this rule."

"There are a lot of employees in Texas, some say 1.2 million to 1.5 million, who are undocumented workers," Hammond said. "A lot of them could be out of the workforce over the next six to 12 months."

Pat Reilly, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, confirmed that the rule, known as ICEB-2006-0004, is awaiting final action. She had no timetable for its final adoption and publication in the Federal Register.

"This one is a well-intentioned regulation and one hopes that it will get full consideration," Reilly said.

Recent firings

Gary Rhodes, a spokesman for Pilgrim's Pride, would not say whether the threat of new regulations prompted the recent firings, describing the issue as an internal personnel matter.

"We have been terminating a number of employees at some of our facilities in Texas. We can't go into any details," Rhodes said. "There undoubtedly will be additional terminations." Rhodes said "layoffs" is an inaccurate description of the job terminations because the company is simultaneously hiring people. He said hundreds of applications have been coming in and noted the company has raised hourly pay for some jobs in order to remain competitive.

A receptionist at a law firm in Nacogdoches said she is married to an undocumented immigrant who works at Pilgrim's. She said her husband's manager recently told him he would be terminated if he did not give the company a valid Social Security number.

"It's almost over for him," said the receptionist, who wanted only her first name, Veronica, to be used. "It's not just him, it's probably even half of Pilgrim's Pride.... They're just waiting to get tapped on the shoulder."

Morales, the university professor in Nacogdoches, said her 300-member Centro Cristiano Familiar church has seen a huge impact from the firings already. She estimated that more than 100 adults, many of them longtime residents with deep ties to East Texas, had lost jobs.

"We're going to be having to find some resources for these families that are being laid off," said Morales, a Sunday school teacher at the church. "We have a lot of folks in our congregation that depend on Pilgrim's for their livelihood." Cracking down on employers

-- A new federal rule could give authorities more power to punish employers who ignore warnings about discrepancies and possible misuse of Social Security numbers. (View the rule, Docket No. ICEB-2006-0004 at www.regulations.gov).

-- Companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants can be subject to fines of up to $10,000 per worker for repeat offenses.

-- Experts say companies currently face little sanction for ignoring federal "no-match" letters indicating something is amiss with a worker's Social Security number.

Jay Root reports from the Star-Telegram's Austin bureau, 512-476-4294
http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news ... 79711.html

The same action is being taken in DeQueen, AR. at the Pilgrim Plant. Word came from an official in the chicken plant that they will let go 25 illegals a week to the tune of 523. Nothing in balck and white has been put out.

Watch this closely.

They may be firing some - although the 100 in Lufkin and Nacogdoches doesn't seem like a huge amount.

It is good if the illegals go - but in their place, Pilgrim's is probably going to bring in more what I call 'quasi-legal' workers under NAFTA. They already have a lot of them - 400 families at one time - this according to local talk - but I do there are are a lot of them.

They not only bring in the factory workers, they bring in office workers, very educated people. They come with very educated, middle class spouses who are taking jobs because they are bilingual and they also have children that are clogging the school district.

Some are very nice people - but plenty of them have little or no respect for this country or it's people. At least they won't be illegal - but I don't know if it won't be worse.

Call me cynical -

The same action is being taken in DeQueen, AR. at the Pilgrim Plant. Word came from an official in the chicken plant that they will let go 25 illegals a week to the tune of 523. Nothing in balck and white has been put out.

Anther outrage. If it is known that this plant has 523 illegals working, why isn't ICE rading the place as we speak? Being a little illegal is like being a little pregnant.

I have been saying all along these raids of 2 - 5 - 20 people are a waste of manpower and money.

They could take some buses and a few ICE agents, park it outside a poultry plant at shift change and get hundreds at one time.

I still think Pilgrim's will replace these with foreign workers under NAFTA - and we will not be better off - maybe worse - if that's possible - and I think it is.

I don't know if these NAFTA workers get freebies or not, but in terms of taking over the country - these will be the educated people who will work to do just that.


If we believe the illegals are being used to destroy America - and I do - then think the next wave of highly educated people could be the next step in this process. They could contain the next wave of politicians who will run for office, etc.

We need to keep an eye on this. Don't assume the firing of illegals is the end of it. It is certainly a good thing - but watch what they put in its place.

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