Thread: ICE raids plant in Laurel, Mississippi

Welcome stormydane and thank you for the local update.

Originally Posted by stormydane

hello, this is what all i know. ICE is still in laurel, they said they are not finished. they are going to get the chicken plants. also, as for the other howard plants, all the records are stored at HI and the other one in ellisville. my husband works for HT, for those of you that dont know that is HOWARD TRANSPORTATION. ICE started going door to door looking for the illegals. alot of the illegals checked their kids out of school and left the zip code. maybe they wont come back. they have annouced on the national new that this is the largest raid in the countries history. so far i beilieve 5 of the illegals have went to court 2 were brought up on identy theft charges.

WELCOME TO ALIPAC, STORMYDANE! GLAD TO HAVE YOU WITH US.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE. WE WOULD MUCH RATHER GET PERSONAL EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS FROM U.S. CITIZENS THAN WHAT THE MSM REGURGITATES OUT, ESPECIALL THE AP. THANKS AGAIN!

Factory had tension between union, immigrants
By HOLBROOK MOHR (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
August 27, 2008 7:47 PM EDT

LAUREL, Miss. - Union bosses in this region of rural Mississippi have long grumbled that the largest factories here hire illegal immigrants, and that the immigrants were starting to get more overtime and supervisory positions.

Friction between the union and immigrant workers, along with a tipoff at an electrical manufacturing plant, boiled over this week into the biggest workplace immigration raid in the nation's history.

When the first of the 595 suspected illegal immigrants was taken into custody Monday, some fellow workers broke into applause. A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the investigation started three years ago after agents received a tip from a union member.

In interviews with The Associated Press, both union members and immigrants spoke of a simmering tension. At least one immigrant said scare tactics were used to pressure people to join the union.

Union members said they resented immigrants, who were often allowed to work as much as 40 hours of overtime a week when other workers were discouraged from doing so. All declined to give their names, saying they feared for their jobs.

Howard Industries, which makes dozens of products from electrical transformers to medical supplies, is in Mississippi's Pine Belt region, an area known for commercial timber and chicken-processing plants.

Robert Shaffer, head of the Mississippi AFL-CIO, said Wednesday that members have long complained that companies in southern Mississippi hire illegal immigrants.

"Jackson, Hattiesburg, Laurel and all areas along the coast, it's a little Mexico," Shaffer said. "I'm not against people trying to make living. I have a compassion for those folks. But at the same time, the taxpayers of Mississippi shouldn't be subsidizing a plant that won't even hire their own workers."

In 2002, Mississippi lawmakers approved a $31.5 million, taxpayer-backed incentive plan for Howard Industries to expand. The company, with 4,000 workers, is the largest employer in Jones County, which includes Laurel.

About 2,600 of Howard Industries' workers are in the union. Shaffer said he did not know whether any of those picked up in the raid were union members, or if nonunion workers were offered overtime while union workers were not.

Shaffer said offering immigrant workers union membership would depend on the situation, but he doubted it could be done if immigrants were in the country illegally.

Those detained in the raid came from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Peru.

Contacted Wednesday, Howard Industries referred reporters to the statement it issued Monday, which said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs. It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants."

No executives were detained in Monday's raid, but a spokeswoman said the raid was just the first part of an ongoing investigation.

A 30-year-old immigrant from Mexico who has worked at the transformer plant for three years said union representatives pressured immigrants to join the union, sometimes visiting their homes, offering gifts such as shirts and indicating that if they joined the union they would make more money.

The immigrant, who was not caught in the raid because he works the night shift, spoke on the condition that he be identified only by his first name, Jose, because he was concerned about being detained.

"The union uses the tactic of saying immigration was coming and the members of the union would not be taken," he said through a translator.

Jose said he did not join the union because he wasn't convinced it would come to his side if he were detained, and he felt his dues would not be returned.

At least eight of the workers caught in the raid face criminal charges for allegedly using false Social Security and residency identification.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people lined up outside the plant to apply for jobs as news of the raid spread. A billboard had gone up last week, before the raid, saying the company was hiring.

"I need a job and got kids. I heard that they need some help now," said Willie Keys, 20, who applied Wednesday. "All them Mexicans got fired because they didn't have a pass ... All these businesses have been taking Americans' jobs."

The unemployment rate in Jones County was 6.5 percent in July, slightly higher than the national rate of 6 percent but below the state's 8.5 percent rate.

William Gunther, an economics professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, said Mississippi has a labor shortage because people aren't moving there, which could explain why companies might hire illegal immigrants.

"That leaves businesses with a serious problem," he said. "That doesn't justify, but it certainly explains why they might be hiring individuals who show up and say, 'I'll work for you.'"

He said businesses could face higher wage costs and consumers could face higher costs for products and services if immigrants are taken out of the economy.

Ruben Castro, who owns La Fiesta Brava Mexican restaurant, is already seeing the effects. He had to bring in workers from a store in another town because he was so short-handed after the raid, when five other Mexican restaurants in Laurel closed because employees were afraid to come to work.

"It hurts the community," he said, because the town will lose 600 people who frequented stores like Wal-Mart and paid sales taxes.

---

Associated Press writers Shelia Byrd and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson and Eileen Sullivan in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/nat? ... 1729161286

well thanks yall, for the welcomes. we are all gett really mad down here. it seems like alot of organizations are taking the imigrants side. they are saying that their rights are being violated. WHAT RIGHTS. they are illegal. if i rob a bank while my kids are at school and my kids have to come home to an empty house, do you think they are going to send me home to take care of my kids. HELL NO! the illegals have robbed us of jobs and money and they have said poor illegals they need to go home to their kids, the americans are so mean to them. BS! yeah send criminals home to raise kids. that makes sence....NOT. i think we need to protest. something has to be done.

Contacted Wednesday, Howard Industries referred reporters to the statement it issued Monday, which said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs. It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants."

Does that mean Howard uses E-Verify? They should be MADE to use it now if they want to remain in business!!

Originally Posted by stormydane

well thanks yall, for the welcomes. we are all gett really mad down here. it seems like alot of organizations are taking the imigrants side. they are saying that their rights are being violated. WHAT RIGHTS. they are illegal. if i rob a bank while my kids are at school and my kids have to come home to an empty house, do you think they are going to send me home to take care of my kids. HELL NO! the illegals have robbed us of jobs and money and they have said poor illegals they need to go home to their kids, the americans are so mean to them. BS! yeah send criminals home to raise kids. that makes sence....NOT. i think we need to protest. something has to be done.

WELCOME stormydane! Glad to have you here!

You are SO right about the sob stories after the raids! What about the children, families are being torn apart...blah blah. They need to come up with a new excuse, this one's worn out.

One thing you can do is write letters to the editors of newspapers in your area. Contact the TV media, most have blogs on their websites now. Tell your side and why you feel that way. Americans are being kicked to the curb every day in the workplace in favor of cheap, tax free illegal alien labor, a practice that MUST END! Alipac is an EXCELLENT organization in the fight against illegal immigration. There's also wealth of information here and members will help in any way we can

Originally Posted by Protocol

What Bill Chandler (MIRA) and Robert Velez don't seem to realize is that ICE is not creating a crisis, rather, they are simply enforcing the law. Robert Velez, son of the local pastor, describes the action as a "horror scene", with the downtrodden IA's being treated like criminals. News flash, they are criminals. They are in this land illegally. Perhaps if the parents acted more responsibly, they would not induce the trauma their children are experiencing.

I agree!

WELCOME to alipac Protocol

Originally Posted by stormydane

well thanks yall, for the welcomes. we are all gett really mad down here. it seems like alot of organizations are taking the imigrants side. they are saying that their rights are being violated. WHAT RIGHTS. they are illegal. if i rob a bank while my kids are at school and my kids have to come home to an empty house, do you think they are going to send me home to take care of my kids. HELL NO! the illegals have robbed us of jobs and money and they have said poor illegals they need to go home to their kids, the americans are so mean to them. BS! yeah send criminals home to raise kids. that makes sence....NOT. i think we need to protest. something has to be done.

Welcome Stormydane! Feel free to vent here. We need more ticked off people to help spread the word to others how serious this problem is. By the way, you might find this website "addicting."

Legal Immigration Only

Welcome stormydane:

I cannot believe this is happening.

And thank you for posting with ALIPAC. We ALIPACERS just loves AMERICAN CITIZENS