Thread: WHO ARE THE VICTIMS OF THE SWIFT RAID - CLOSED

Poll

Who do you believe are the true victims of this week's immigration raid on Swift & Company plants?

http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/page ... 44Question

Poll Results:

The immigrants and their families 9.86%

Swift & Company 0.54%

Those who had their ID stolen 47.12%

U.S. Taxpayers 24.65%

All of the above 15.61%

None of the above 2.22%

Total number of votes: 365

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Day in Court for Arrested Swift Workers

Last Edited: Friday, 15 Dec 2006, 10:04 AM MST
Created: Friday, 15 Dec 2006, 9:52 AM MST

GREELEY --

More workers arrested in this week's immigration raid are due in court Friday in Greeley.

Thursday, five men and women in orange jumpsuits and handcuffs were taken to court on identity theft charges Thursday as state and federal officials began the process of charging or deporting nearly 1,300 people arrested in a sweeping six-state immigration raid.

Prosecutors say one of the suspects was using the identity of a North Carolina man who died last year and the others were using the names of three women and one man in Texas.

About 5 percent of those arrested in the Swift raids are accused of stealing other people's identities in order to get jobs. The rest are being held for being in the country illegally.

Meanwhile, candelight vigils are planned Friday night in support of the families of Swift workers arrested in this week's immigration raids.

Organizers say they'll be collecting money to support those families. Vigils are planned in Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Grand Junction and Durango. A vigil Mass is also planned in Greeley at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, which has also been collecting money and organizing aid for families.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 1,282 people in raids on Swift & Co. meat processing plants in Greeley and in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas and Utah Tuesday. About 5 percent face charges of buying or stealing other people's identities to get documents they needed so they could get jobs, ICE said. Officials said that number could grow.

Suspects facing only immigration charges were in federal custody awaiting hearings to determine whether they should be deported, said ICE spokesman Richard Rocha in Washington. He did not know when those hearings would occur.

Those facing other criminal charges will likely be moved to states where the crimes allegedly occurred, he said.

About 80 identity-theft cases in Utah and Colorado had been turned over to state authorities for prosecution. Rocha said he had no information on those cases and could not comment on the reasons they were transferred.

The five who appeared in Weld County District Court Thursday were being held for investigation of forgery and criminal impersonation. A judge set bail at $30,000 each and gave prosecutors until Monday to formally file charges.

Prosecutors said one was using the identity of a North Carolina man who died in 2005 and the others were using the names of three women and one man in Texas.

The alleged thefts were discovered when the victims or their families learned that someone using their names had wrecked a car, failed to pay taxes, applied for a loan, opened a bank account or obtained a driver's license in another state, prosecutors said.

Some of the victims said their wallets had been lost or stolen.

Other identity-theft suspects appeared in state court in Utah.

In Logan, Utah, authorities arrested a woman on suspicion of selling more than 300 birth certificates to create identities for people who wanted to get jobs at a Swift plant in Hyrum, Utah.

In Dumas, Texas, School Superintendent Larry Appel said a few of the district's students had both parents arrested in the sweep at the Swift plant in nearby Cactus.

"There's probably more families with one gone," he said. "I wouldn't have a clue how many. There's no way to tell."

At Our Lady of Peace Church in Greeley, the Rev. Bernie Schmitz said the goal of Thursday's meeting was to help families meet their immediate needs such as paying their bills and finding out what has happened to their loved ones. He said there was a sense of hope but also a lot of anxiety in the meeting, which was closed to the public.

"This whole event has had a profound impact on the community. It's like a shock and you're trying to figure out how to recover from that," Schmitz said outside the church, where many people from the community gathered to show their support and offer help.

Schmitz said that the raids might raise awareness that immigration isn't a simple issue and show how it affects families, businesess and the community as a whole.

"It's distinctly possible that this might open up a door, give a face to the whole question of immigration," he said.

Ernest Giron, a vice president of Catholic Charities in Denver, about 60 miles south of Greeley, said his agency will work with United Way and other community groups help the families of the arrested workers.

He said the raids demonstrate that immigration is a problem with deep roots that can't be resolved simply by law enforcement.

"It's putting a face to the complexity of immigration," he said. "It's a matter of how the law impacts a community, which is what we're seeing up in Greeley."

http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/page ... 44Question

It doesn't make sense to give any of these criminals bail. They have already proven they can't be trusted to obey the law. All giving them bail does is give them a chance to run and steal someone elses ID.

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

It doesn't make sense to give any of these criminals bail. They have already proven they can't be trusted to obey the law. All giving them bail does is give them a chance to run and steal someone elses ID.

You are so right, they are untrustworthy.

"It's putting a face to the complexity of immigration," he said. "It's a matter of how the law impacts a community, which is what we're seeing up in Greeley."

NO! It is not about how the law itself impacts a community... it is a matter of how not enforcing the law and disobeying the law impacts a community. Geeeesh do you ever feel like your looking at the world in a mirror and everything is backwards?