Thread: Up to 350 in custody after New Bedford immigration raid

Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Up to 350 in custody after New Bedford immigration raid

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff

An army of 300 federal immigration agents raided a New Bedford leather manufacturer today and arrested the company's owner and three managers on charges that they hired illegal workers to meet labor demands fueled by millions of dollars in contracts with the US military.

During the early morning blitz, agents also took into custody up to 350 employees who had been working at Michael Bianco Inc., a waterfront factory that employs about 500 people, predominantly immigrants from Guatemala and El Salvador. Some employees fled when agents stormed the building, and helicopters hovered overhead to alert authorities of escape routes, said Corinn Williams, executive director of the Community Economic Development Center in New Bedford, which has been fielding calls from worried immigrants.

US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan called the working conditions at the factory "horrible" at a press conference today in Boston. The 350 workers have been taken to Fort Devens for processing, officials said.

Michael Bianco makes handbags and leather goods, including military backpacks and survival vests. Since 2003, it has received almost $100 million in defense contracts, and its workforce has grown from 85 to 500, according to a federal indictment unsealed today.

The indictment accused the company's owner, Francesco Insolia, of having knowingly and actively hired illegal immigrants to expand his workforce. It alleged that not only did Insolia and his management staff knowingly accept false documents, but that they also instructed illegal immigrants on how to obtain fake documents. Others named in the criminal complaint include Ana Figueroa, the company's payroll manager; Dilia Costa, the plant manager; and office manager Gloria Melo.

The indictment also charged Luis Torres, a New Bedford music store worker, with providing fake documentation to illegal immigrants.

The arrests followed an 11-month investigation by federal officials, working with state and local law enforcement, in which undercover agents used recording devices, according to the indictment.

"Members of the community are just devastated. People are just in disbelief," said Williams, the immigrant advocate from in New Bedford. "They're hard-working people."

The arrests were made as Congress is preparing to grapple again with the issue of comprehensive immigration reform and as the agency has stepped up efforts to target employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"I question the timing on this," Williams said. "We're on the eve of another introduction of comprehensive immigration reform. My hope is that many people will have the opportunity to normalize their status. This is going to drive people back into the shadows and make them much more vulnerable."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_r ... in_cu.html

Hey pandabear! Glad to see you stopped by and left of this great piece of information!

Dixie

And the other side trots out a commonly seen line of argument: they're hard workers, what a surprise, hardship to their families, the timing of this is suspicious, blah, blah, blah.

Hi Dixie! I apologize for not being around more. Busy saving for my first house means killing myself working two jobs.

I had to post this information since I noticed no one else had.

here is more info from the ICE website to those interested.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases ... boston.htm

I just did a bit of research on this company. The company was winning military contracts and they were able to hand in the low bid because they were using illegal labor. Obviously, this meant that honest companies who employ American workers could not win the contracts. THERE IS NO LABOR SHORTAGE. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS OUTSOURCING@HOME.

One of the things that came up when I googled the company owner's name was this:


NEW BEDFORD, MA Political Contributions by Individuals
Insolia, Francesco (Michael Bianco/Owner), (Zip code: 02746) $250 to BARNEY FRANK FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE on 08/25/04 Kalisz, Frederick (New Bedford/Mayor), ...

"Members of the community are just devastated. People are just in disbelief," said Williams, the immigrant advocate from in New Bedford. "They're hard-working people."

Here's the tired old "They're hard-working people line" WHICH ALSO HAVE STOLEN OTHER PEOPLES IDENTITIES, AND FORGED DOCUMENTS, AND BROKE INTO OUR COUNTRY, ETC. ETC. IN AMERICA WE CALL THEM CRIMINALS!! SO BELIEVE THAT!

Originally Posted by pandabear

"I question the timing on this," Williams said. "We're on the eve of another introduction of comprehensive immigration reform. My hope is that many people will have the opportunity to normalize their status. This is going to drive people back into the shadows and make them much more vulnerable."http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/03/up_to_350_in_cu.html

GOOD! Go back into the shadows, or under a rock, or whatever you want. Just do it in your own country. And take your anchor babies with you. I am sooooo sick of PC.

Feds: Illegal Immigrants Hired To Keep Up Military Contracts
Company Owner Accused Of Hiring Illegal Immigrants

POSTED: 8:57 am EST March 7, 2007
UPDATED: 9:13 am EST March 7, 2007

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- Federal investigators said the demands of $91 million in government contracts prompted a New England leather company to hire hundreds of illegal immigrants.

WCVB-TV reported Tuesday that the company was raided at 8:30 a.m. It involved hundreds of local, state and federal agents. They moved in on the Michael Bianco Inc. in New Bedford, where officials said 66 percent of the workforce was made up of illegal immigrants working in what they described as a turn-of-the-century sweatshop.

"These are the deplorable conditions that these workers essentially had to endure under," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said.

"The bathrooms that I went into were very dirty. There was a lot of squalor," said Bruce Foucart of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Since 2001, the plant that manufactured leather goods has won more than $90 million in defense contracts. It went from 85 employees to more than 500.

Agents arrested company owner Francesco Insolia, of Pembroke, and managers Dilia Costa, Ana Figueroa and Gloria Melo. They were all charged with conspiring to hire illegal immigrants.

Officials said the 11-month investigation was based on an anonymous tip. An undercover immigration agent posing as an illegal immigrant then secured a job at the plant and was provided with fraudulent documents.

"While working at MBI, the ICE undercover agent confirmed that many other aliens were working illegally at the company with the company's management knowledge," said Julie Myers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Aside from the terrible conditions, Sullivan said the company paid low wages with no benefits and had a system of unreasonable fines for workers.

"There was a huge economic benefit from the employer's perspective to hire undocumented immigrants," Sullivan said.

Officials said the majority of the undocumented workers are women, who will be released for humanitarian reasons pending deportation if they are the primary caregivers to children. They will also be provided with cell phones to contact their families and an attorney.

http://www.wfsb.com/news/11191884/detai ... t&psp=news

Mar 7, 2007

Illegal workers taken to Devens

Agents nab 400 in New Bedford

By M. Elizabeth Roman TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
eroman@telegram.com


DEVENS— They came in waves through the night. A parade of buses, with every window shuttered in white paper, pulled up slowly to the gated compound of the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area last night.

Inside, about 400 illegal workers apprehended in a raid yesterday at a New Bedford leather company were being separated by gender, given a bed assignment and told to wait for processing that could take up to four days.

“It’s organized chaos,” Bruce E. Chadbourne said. “We’ll be processing people 24-7 until it’s done.”


Mr. Chadbourne, Boston-based field director of Apprehension, Detention & Removal for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said it took about a month to prepare the Devens area before the raid. His department is a section of the federal Department of Homeland Security.

About 700 agents were called from all over the country to complete what was the fourth largest such raid conducted in the country, he said.

Local catering, medical services, public health services, 24-hour ambulance, telephone service, movers and a fence company had to be hired and put into place from scratch before the 8 a.m. raid, in which two-thirds of Michael Bianco Inc.’s 500 employees were arrested. The company produces various products, including lightweight backpacks, to fulfill $91 million in military contracts.

About 10 pregnant females were released shortly after the raid, Mr. Chadbourne said. They will receive a summons to appear in court.

Mr. Chadbourne said he chose the Devens site because it had dorms used at times to house military personnel.

Two barracks and a processing area on the 5,000-acre U.S. Army facility are being used for the operation. Though the base closed in 1996, the site supports military and other federal activities.

Temperatures hovered around zero degrees, with wind chill about 20 degrees below zero last night.

Mr. Chadbourne said groups of about a dozen people were being taken from their sleeping quarters into a large processing area throughout the evening. There, they were moved through about 40 stations where agents recorded biometrics and personal histories into a computer catalog.

“They are very subdued,” Mr. Chadbourne said of the detainees’ mood. “They are cooperative and calm. Well, they have a lot of company.”

He said about 60 percent of those arrested were from Guatemala. The second largest group was from El Salvador, followed by Brazilians. The women outnumbered men arrested 2-to-1.

After processing, the workers are entitled to a hearing. Many will be moved to detention areas in Texas or wherever the agency has space.

“Many will be flown home,” Mr. Chadbourne said.

Rumors of a raid on illegal immigrants had been circulating in the Leominster-Fitchburg area for several days.

At Monday’s Fitchburg School Committee meeting Superintendent of Schools Andre R. Ravenelle reassured parents and students that a raid of that type would not happen in the Leominster-Fitchburg area.

The owner of the New Bedford leather company, Francesco Insolia, 50, and three top managers were arrested after the raid yesterday. He is accused of hiring hundreds of illegal immigrants to work in “sweat shop” conditions to meet the demands of the military contracts.

The sweep caused such chaos that some workers tried to flee, only to be turned back by the bitter cold, said Bruce Foucart, customs enforcement special agent in charge.

U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan accused Mr. Insolia of exploiting the illegal workers to maximize his profits on the military contracts.

Mr. Sullivan said workers were paid about $7 to $7.50 per hour and Mr. Insolia set up “deplorable conditions,” including docking employees $15 for every minute they were late, and $20 fines for spending more than two minutes in the bathroom or talking while working.

“Insolia intentionally seeks out illegal aliens because they are more desperate to find employment and thus more likely to endure the severe workplace conditions he has imposed,” Mr. Sullivan said.

In an affidavit, investigators claimed Mr. Insolia, plant manager Dilia Costa, payroll manager Ana Figueroa and office manager Gloria Melo allowed an undercover officer posing as an illegal immigrant to continue working at the plant, and Ms. Figueroa advised her how to obtain a fake Social Security card.

The investigation began after an informant tipped off federal officials, Mr. Sullivan said.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 70636/1116

And here come the sob stories

Children stranded after immigration raid 52 minutes ago



Dozens of young children were stranded at schools and with baby-sitters after their parents were rounded up by federal authorities who raided a leather goods maker suspected of hiring illegal immigrants, authorities said Wednesday.

About two-thirds of the 500 employees of Michael Bianco Inc., mostly women, were detained Tuesday by immigration officials for possible deportation as illegal aliens.

As a result, about 100 children were stuck with baby sitters, caretakers and others, said Corinn Williams, director of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts.

"We're continuing to get stories today about infants that were left behind," she said. "It's been a widespread humanitarian crisis here in New Bedford."

The state Department of Social Services was working Wednesday to make sure the children receive proper care.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Julie Myers said women who were sole caregivers of children would be released, but it takes time to verify people's accounts.

Federal officials coordinated with the state social services agency before the raid, said Marc Raimondi, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"I'm not saying there won't be children whose parents are detained and removed, but I am saying that every effort is going to be made to ensure no child is going to be put in jeopardy because of the removal," he said.

During the federal raid Tuesday, company owner Francesco Insolia, 50, and three top managers were arrested. Authorities allege Insolia oversaw "sweatshop" conditions so he could meet the demands of $91 million in U.S. military contracts.

U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan accused Insolia of exploiting the illegals to maximize his profits on the military contracts for production of backpacks and safety vests for soldiers. A fifth person was arrested on charges of helping illegals obtain fake identification.

Investigators described dingy conditions and said the illegal workers faced onerous fines, such as a $20 charge for talking while working and spending more than two minutes in the bathroom.

"They were given no options. It's either here, or the risk of no income at all," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said, comparing the plant to sweatshops from the early 1900s. "Clearly, they were exploited because of the fact they were here illegally."

Insolia's lawyer, Inga Bernstein, said: "The whole story will come out, and at that point it will be a very different scenario."

Michael Bianco Inc., founded in 1985, specialized in manufacturing high-end leather goods for retailers including Coach Inc. and Timberland Co. before landing a $9.4 million military contract in 2003 to make survival vests.

From 2004 and 2006, it won $82 million in military contracts to make products including lightweight backpacks. An Army spokesman did not return a call seeking comment about the status of the contracts

http://tinyurl.com/2mcovt