Thread: First Workside raid under Obama. OBL going nuts!!!

The Pro-Illegal Aliens are going Nuts over this!!!

On yesterday (Tuesday, February 24), the Obama Administration executed the FIRST WORKSITE RAID of his administration. Outside Seattle in a factory in Bellingham, Washington, 28 workers, including 3 mothers, were chained and arrested as part of an ICE enforcement operation.



TAKE ACTION:



1. Call the White House at 202-456-1414 and tell President Obama:



· Business as usual at ICE is not change we can believe in.

· Now more than ever, a top to bottom review of ICE priorities and it enforcement operations is needed.

· At a minimum, until the new ICE Director (named Monday) and an oversight strategy is in place, please halt these types of enforcement actions.

· Just last week, you promised that you are committed to fixing the broken immigration system through comprehensive immigration reform. The President can't say one thing and do another. The community needs clarity.

· Latino and immigrant voters turned out in massive numbers to vote for change and we will be watching very closely how you handle this incident, these detainees and their legal rights, and the immigration issue in general.



2. Issue a press release or statement expressing your concerns. Sample below.





Click the following links for: Talking Points on the Raid, Forum Press Statement, and sample press statement.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/590/story/806909.html

BELLINGHAM - After federal agents raided Yamato Engine Specialists Ltd. and detained 28 employees Tuesday, Feb. 24, company officials expressed dismay about how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handled the matter.

"They arrived in force," said Asiff Dhanani, a co-owner of the company at 2020 E. Bakerview Road. "They surrounded the whole perimeter."

Most of the workers detained were taken off in handcuffs, Dhanani said, except for three women who apparently were processed and released because they had children in local schools or daycare centers. The 28 made up about one-third of the engine remanufacturing company's production force.


"Some of these guys have been with us a long time," Dhanani said, adding that at least two of the workers detained Tuesday had been cleared by an earlier federal immigration audit that began in 2005 and was competed in 2006.

The arrested workers included 25 men - 22 Mexican nationals, one Salvadoran, one Guatemalan and one Honduran - and three women, all Mexican nationals, said ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers. She added that some of those arrested had phony documents, such as Social Security cards.

The 25 men were taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, and all will be entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge to determine if they have any legal grounds to remain in the U.S., Dankers said.

Shirin Dhanani Makalai, Yamato's administrative manager, said the company has done its best to comply with immigration law in its hiring practices. She provided a copy of a 2006 letter to her from ICE, over the signature of assistant special agent in charge Roy Hoffman, praising the company's compliance.

The letter says, in part: "Yamato Engine Specialist Ltd. is in full compliance with the record keeping requirements of the law and is making a good faith effort to insure (sic) that all new positions are filled by American citizens and by aliens authorized to work in the United States. You and Yamato Engine Specialist Ltd. may be proud of the contribution which your diligence and resolve are making to the success of this program. Your efforts are a genuine investment in the economic well-being of our nation."

Makalai said ICE removed several workers after the 2005-06 audit, but that enforcement action was carried out in a less disruptive way. Agents came to the plant, interviewed workers, and departed with those who were working illegally.

"They said they would work with us because they didn't want to cause us undue hardship," Makalai said of the earlier enforcement. "It was very dignified and humanely done. We just didn't expect this."

Dankers said there was nothing unusual about the Tuesday raid, which was authorized by search warrant after an investigation that began last spring.

"Individuals can dispute whether they think that is the appropriate tactic or not, but it is something we are allowed to do under the law," Dankers said.

Many of those detained admitted they were in the country illegally when questioned by federal officers Tuesday, Dankers added.

Makalai said the range of wages for Yamato's production workers begins at $9 and can be as high as $25 to $30 for the most skilled. She and Dhanani said the loss of the workers left them scrambling to fill orders.

"Because these are skilled jobs, there are only limited people that can do some of these jobs," Dhanani said. "You can't just get someone off the street and put someone in these positions."

Makalai said Yamato gets the federally required I-9 documentation from every worker at the time of hiring, but she and other employers have a difficult time making sure that workers' documents are legitimate.

"They forged them, they bought them, we don't know," Makalai said. "They (the federal agencies) do not have an information system. ... Then they come in and ambush you."

But Sharon Rummery, spokeswoman at the regional office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in San Francisco, said employers could check employees' documents with relative ease by using the federal E-Verify system. Any employer can enroll in the free system, which then provides a quick online verification system that, among other things, attempts to match names with Social Security numbers.

Makalai, Dhanani and other members of the family that launched Yamato are themselves immigrants who fled persecution in Uganda in the early 1970s.

"We know about paperwork and following the law," Makalai said. "We know about living in fear. ... It's not something we like to see other people experience."

· Just last week, you promised that you are committed to fixing the broken immigration system through comprehensive immigration reform. The President can't say one thing and do another. The community needs clarity.

... Since when? They have ALL been talking out of both sides of their faces! Guess it only matters when they're talking to YOU?

The arrested workers included 25 men - 22 Mexican nationals, one Salvadoran, one Guatemalan and one Honduran - and three women, all Mexican nationals, said ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers. She added that some of those arrested had phony documents, such as Social Security cards.

"They said they would work with us because they didn't want to cause us undue hardship," Makalai said of the earlier enforcement. "It was very dignified and humanely done. We just didn't expect this."

<<<< So you figured you were okay to keep employing illegals?

"They forged them, they bought them, we don't know," Makalai said. "They (the federal agencies) do not have an information system. ... Then they come in and ambush you."

<<< Guess you never heard of E-VERIFY? These guys need to be charged right along with the illegals, being under investigation for the SECOND time merits this!

Makalai said ICE removed several workers after the 2005-06 audit, but that enforcement action was carried out in a less disruptive way. Agents came to the plant, interviewed workers, and departed with those who were working illegally.

"They said they would work with us because they didn't want to cause us undue hardship," Makalai said of the earlier enforcement. "It was very dignified and humanely done. We just didn't expect this."

Obviously you were not "expecting this!" Perhaps that's why you continued to hire illegals after your so called 2006 "audit."

Whatever meaasures you have implemented since that time are probably not working! All the more reason as to why E-Verify needs to be mandatory in cases of companies such as this who are repeat violators in hiring those who have no legal right to work in this country.

28 taken into custody in Bellingham ICE raid
10:50 PM PST on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
By ROB PIERCY / KING 5 News and KING5.com Staff

Video: Whatcom County shoring up border from illegal immigrants

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents today arrested 28 employees during a raid at a Bellingham engine manufacturing shop.

The raid occurred at Yamato Engine Specialists, located at 2020 Bakerview Road.

Agents say the workers are foreign nationals with administrative immigration violations. They include 25 men and three women. The workers are being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.

The investigation was instigated by the arrest of a criminal illegal alien who previously worked for Yamato, according to ICE officials. Agents say Yamato's hiring records indicated other workers may have used fake Social Security numbers and counterfeit documents to obtain employment.

The raid comes as the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office moves closer to working with the border patrol.

The sheriff's office is applying to become part of Operation Stonegarden, a $60 million border patrol program where counties agree to assist the border patrol in exchange for money and equipment. Some people say it's a dangerous trade.

Activist Rosalinda Guillen, who opposes the plan, says in exchange for the money, the sheriff's office agrees to detain and turn over suspected illegal immigrants to border patrol. Guillen says it's a recipe for racial profiling.

"It's almost like they're looking for something to do and we're the targets," she said.

But Whatcom County Sheriff's Chief Jeff Parks says that's just not the case. Already deputies call in the feds when they suspect someone is here illegally. The grant money would help in preparation for increased security during the 2010 Olympics.

"This is not changing the way that we operate, it doesn't change our focus," Parks said.

The sheriff in Jefferson County declined to apply for the grant. He felt language in the application that described undocumented immigrants as "criminal" was insensitive and felt the overall document was unacceptable.

Guillen wishes Whatcom County felt the same.

While there's no reason to believe anything criminal or terrorist related might happen in the county during the 2010 Olympics, the sheriff's office says it needs to be prepared. That means new equipment, manpower and training. That takes money, and they believe Operation Stonegarden could really help.

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/ ... a.html?npc

In the car I had the radio on today, and these was a commercial about using E-Verify, but I was thinking about something else and didn't wake up until they said something like "use E-Verify."
Anyone else heard anything like this?

Activist Rosalinda Guillen, who opposes the plan, says in exchange for the money, the sheriff's office agrees to detain and turn over suspected illegal immigrants to border patrol. Guillen says it's a recipe for racial profiling.

RAAAACISM!!! Sure didn't take them long to pull the race card.

Someone tell these people that Obama represents American citizens, not illegals. Someone tell Obama that he represents American citizens, not illegals.

What gives these people the right to call our government? Enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act now!

Profiling---known as "Offender Profiling"--is a recognized law enforcement and investigation principle.

Shirin Dhanani Makalai, Yamato's administrative manager, said the company has done its best to comply with immigration law in its hiring practices. She provided a copy of a 2006 letter to her from ICE, over the signature of assistant special agent in charge Roy Hoffman, praising the company's compliance




A letter from 2006 means NOTHING!!

All it means is that they figured they were in the clear back then and ICE would never take a second look so they could continue hiring illegal aliens without a care in the world.

Evidently, they thought wrong

Thanks for the notice. I'll call tomorrow and say thank you for the raid. Jobs opening up for more Americans.

Does being a mother constitute a pass from being held accountable??? (see first paragraph)...

Here is what one of our local activist posts. He's a socialist.


Shaun Harkin

From: Shaun Harkin <shaunhar...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:59:57 -0600

Subject: Fwd: First Worksite RAID Under Obama: Let's Fight Back



*Call to Action:
Fight Back against FIRST WORKSITE raids of the Obama Administration*

Yesterday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a factory in
Bellingham, Washington<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=PbWsXd5O23QJizs...>.
We showed up to the polls to vote for Obama. We heard his promises of
change. We have seen the countless reports that Bush-era immigration
enforcement tactics are both financially and humanely costly. *And now, we
are getting more of the same.*

Raids hurt our businesses, our communities, all workers and immigrants.
Raids victimize the very people that helped to bring change to the White
House and elect President Barack Obama.

In this time of economic hardship it is completely unacceptable for the
Obama administration to be executing raids on our workers, businesses and
communities - *IT IS TIME HE HEARS FROM US!*

*CALL the WHITE HOUSE NOW - 202.456.1414 to speak to the President*

OR FAX a letter to: 202.456.2461

*Tell President Barack Obama:*

- The raid in Washington state is unacceptable, and hurts all of our
communities.
- He must stop the raids, and we *must *pass comprehensive immigration
reform - *NOW*!

We must let the White House know that we *will not* stand for a continuation
of Bush-era policies. Help us fight for immigrant rights in the new
administration.

http://groups.google.com/group/10demarz ... dfd1ea15cd