Thread: Say what you want but....

Kosher meatpacker struggles after immigration raid
By HENRY C. JACKSON, Associated Press Writer
Sun Aug 17, 2:13 PM ET

POSTVILLE, Iowa - Three months after the nation's largest immigration raid, chickens and beef carcasses are again moving down the line at Agriprocessors' sprawling kosher meatpacking plant, but managers acknowledge that business still isn't back to normal.

The biggest problem is hiring people to replace the 389 workers arrested by immigration agents, managers told The Associated Press. More than 1,000 people worked at the plant before the May 12 raid.

And then there's the possibility that the state attorney general could file charges against the company following an Iowa Labor Commission investigation that alleged 57 cases of child labor law violations.

"Sure, it is challenging," said Chaim Abrahams, a manager at Agriprocessors. "Running a plant day to day no matter what is challenging. But we are ambitious and determined to restore it. And we're doing it with a smile."

That optimism isn't shared by some in this isolated community of 2,200 people in northeast Iowa. Many blame Agriprocessors for the tumult surrounding the raid, which pushed people out of jobs and homes, and in some cases separated children from parents.

Some residents said they're aghast at stories they've heard about conditions inside the plant, the town's biggest employer, where workers have complained of physical abuse by managers, wage violations and the hiring of underage employees.

"It would be great to have the plant but have it run by a different company or a different family," said the Rev. Lloyd Paul Ouderkirk of St. Bridget's Catholic Church.

Managers say their biggest problem is hiring enough qualified workers, at wages of $10 an hour or more, to replace the allegedly illegal immigrants caught by the federal raid.

Abrahams said the plant was operating at about half capacity. "There's a lot of ups and downs when you are recruiting so quickly," Abrahams said. "It's a process that's evolving every day ... we're constantly building."

Abrahams explained the company's challenges while walking past workers dressed in blood-spattered smocks, worn over sweat shirts that warded off the chilly temperatures inside the plant. Most wore hair nets and hard hats as well as heavy boots to protect their feet against the inevitable animal flesh and blood found in a meatpacking plant.

Among those hired to recruit workers was James Cord, a regional manager with Jacobson Companies. "Coming in within six weeks with enough people to get the plant to full capacity isn't a challenge ... it's nearly impossible," Cord said.

Cord said many workers were coming from Texas and the Upper Midwest, especially the Minneapolis area.

David Hayes said he was hired by another job placement firm and came to Iowa from Louisville, Ky. When he arrived in Postville with a busload of other workers, he said, some were rejected because they didn't have enough training. "I raised a fuss and I think I'm going to start next week," he said. "But some of those guys just got sent on a bus right back home."

The new workers also have drawn complaints by some residents, who said the typically single men were rowdier than the illegal immigrant workers, many of whom had families in Postville.

Mayor Robert Penrod said the first batch of new workers seemed especially troublesome. "Not really a good fit," he said.

Inside the plant, reminders remain of the arrested workers, including safety instructions in English and Spanish.

Outside several rooms in the plant, doorways bear mezuzahs, small cases containing Hebrew verses from the Torah. "You see it and you are reminded of your commitment to do good," said Getzel Rubashkin, a plant employee and grandson of the plant's owner.

Rubashkin said he believed the plant could recover but that it needed to burnish its image. "We don't have much of a PR arm," he said.

Earlier this month, a group of rabbis toured the plant and spoke to workers about their conditions. They left satisfied that the plant was safe and properly treating its kosher food, said Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie, a California rabbi sympathetic to the Rubashkin family.

Plant manager Abrahams said such openness is now part of the company's strategy, and workers are focused on day-to-day operations, not the plant's notoriety. "We are not there yet," Abrahams said, referring to production. "It is a struggle, something we must deal with. But with enough money, and the right time, and if we stay the course there's no reason we can't get there."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/...epvmPGXzGs0NUE

Earlier this month, a group of rabbis toured the plant and spoke to workers about their conditions. They left satisfied that the plant was safe and properly treating its kosher food,

Too bad the owners were not worried about treating it's employees properly ... then they might not be in this situation.

I love the way the MSM is trying to spin this ... we are supposed to feel sorry for the poor comapany because the big bad FBI came an took away the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS that the company was abusing and underpaying in order to pad their profit margin.

Originally Posted by LuvBigRip

Just 6 Illegal Immigrants Sign Up for Self-Deportation in First Week
Thursday, August 14, 2008

PHOENIX — Federal officials say only six illegal immigrants volunteered to leave the United States in the first week of a pilot program inviting nearly a half-million people to self-deport.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program is aimed at more than 450,000 illegal immigrants who have received but ignored court orders to leave the country and who also have no criminal records.

It is available in just five cities, including Phoenix, where an Estonian was among the six who signed up by Wednesday.

Officials say the program offers a less disruptive option than arrest and instant jailing by immigration agents who track down immigration fugitives at their homes or workplaces.

It gives those who participate up to three months to wrap up their personal affairs.

The other cities in the program are Santa Ana, Calif., San Diego, Chicago, and Charlotte, N.C. An Indian husband and wife and a Guatemalan signed up in Chicago, a Salvadoran volunteered in Charlotte and a Mexican in San Diego.

Immigration agency scraps self-deport program
By AMY TAXIN, Associated Press Writer
31 minutes ago

SANTA ANA, Calif. - The federal government will scrap a program for illegal immigrants to turn themselves in for deportation after only eight people volunteered during a nearly three-week trial, an official said Thursday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offered the pilot program in five cities, giving illegal immigrants facing court orders to leave the country 90 days to plan their departure and coordinate travel with relatives instead of facing the prospect of being arrested, detained and deported.

ICE will end its "Scheduled Departure" program when the trial period concludes Friday, Jim Hayes, acting director of ICE's detention and removal operations, told The Associated Press. "The bottom line is it is not effective," Hayes said. "Quite frankly, I think this proves the only method that works is enforcement."

The initiative drew skepticism, even ridicule, from many immigration activists who have criticized ICE's increasing raids on homes and businesses. Hayes said lack of support from those activists shows they are unwilling to accept any enforcement.

"They want amnesty, they want open borders, and they want a more vulnerable America," he said.

Hayes told the AP that other tactics have proven more effective. ICE has been tracking down so-called immigration "fugitives" by knocking on their doors at home, often during pre-dawn hours.

ICE offered the program to 457,000 illegal immigrants nationwide who have ignored judicial orders to leave the country but have no criminal record. Applicants could sign up at ICE offices in Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego and Santa Ana.

ICE estimates 30,000 eligible immigrants lived in the five cities where the program was offered.

The eight volunteers included an Estonian man in Phoenix, a Guatemalan man and Indian couple in Chicago, a Salvadoran man in Charlotte, a Mexican woman in San Diego and a Guatemalan man and Lebanese man in Santa Ana, according to ICE.

ICE spent $41,000 to advertise the program. Hayes said the government may have saved money because the cost of detaining the six immigrants who turned themselves in during the program's first week would have been $37,000.

Immigrant advocates said the program had few incentives and failed to consider undocumented immigrants' ties to family in the U.S. They said they worry that ICE will cite the weak turnout as a reason to step up the raids, since it now can say that it made an effort to enforce the law in a way that was less disruptive to illegal immigrants and their families. "My hope is it isn't going to empower them or fuel their enforcement even further," immigration lawyer Lisa Ramirez said Thursday.

ICE said it hatched the plan to quell criticism of the surge in immigration raids. One supporter of tougher enforcement said the low turnout will help insulate the agency from some of that criticism. "It was calling their bluff," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

The program was criticized for offering little incentive for illegal immigrants to step forward since they would be barred from returning to the United States for as long as a decade. And while ICE has increased arrests of illegal immigrants who fail to heed court orders to depart, several immigrants said many people feel they have a decent chance of sticking it out here longer than the government would give them if they came forward.

"Why are they going to go back to their country and pay someone to bring them over here again?" asked Rigoberto Moreno, 46, who entered the country illegally from Mexico as a teenager in the 1970s and has since become a U.S. citizen.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080822/...v_rcmtKz.s0NUE

Originally Posted by Jolie Rouge

Kosher meatpacker struggles after immigration raid
By HENRY C. JACKSON, Associated Press Writer
Sun Aug 17, 2:13 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/...epvmPGXzGs0NUE


Too bad the owners were not worried about treating it's employees properly ... then they might not be in this situation.

I love the way the MSM is trying to spin this ... we are supposed to feel sorry for the poor comapany because the big bad FBI came an took away the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS that the company was abusing and underpaying in order to pad their profit margin.

Iowa meatpacking plant cited for safety violation
By NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press Writer
Fri Aug 22, 1:03 PM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa meatpacking plant that was the site of a large immigration raid this spring was accused Friday of 31 new and repeat safety violations, state labor officials said.

The Iowa Division of Labor Services proposed fining the Postville plant $101,000 for 21 serious violations, six repeat offenses and four non-serious violations.

The Agriprocessors plant was the site of a separate May 12 federal immigration raid that led to the arrest of nearly 400 people, making it the largest single-site raid in U.S. history.

The citations announced Friday stem from a July 8 inspection by the Division of Labor Services that alleged safety and health violations throughout the plant. Among the citations were claims of improper storage and covering of cutting equipment, improperly stored compressed gas cylinders and fixed staircases in unsafe conditions.

The 31 violations follow a combined 39 violations found in November 2007 and February 2008 inspections.

Kerry Koonce, a spokeswoman for the state labor agency, said the proposed fine is the second-largest in the past year — behind another Agriprocessors citation in March for $182,000. The state later reduced that fine to $42,750.

"It's certainly a large amount for any one sitting," Koonce said.

Earlier this month, a separate state labor investigation led to allegations that Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, employed dozens of underage workers. The state attorney general has not decided whether to file charges against the company

Agriprocessors has 15 days to respond to the state's latest allegations. A company spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080822/...9SCkSZRu2s0NUE

Illegal Immigrants Returning to Mexico in Record Numbers
Friday, August 22, 2008

By Kris Gutierrez

E-Mail Print Share:

DALLAS — Illegal immigrants are returning home to Mexico in numbers not seen for decades - and the Mexican government may have to deal with a crush on its social services and lower wages once the immigrants arrive.

The Mexican Consulate's office in Dallas is seeing increasing numbers of Mexican nationals requesting paperwork to go home for good, especially parents who want to know what documentation they'll need to enroll their children in Mexican schools.

"Those numbers have increased percentage-wise tremendously," said Enrique Hubbard, the Mexican consul general in Dallas. "In fact, it's almost 100 percent more this year than it was the previous two years."

The illegal immigrant population in the U.S. has dropped 11 percent since August of last year, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Its research shows 1.3 million illegal immigrants have returned to their home countries.

Some say illegal immigrants are leaving because a soft economy has led to fewer jobs, causing many laborers to seek work elsewhere.

Others argue that a tough stance on immigration through law enforcement has spread fear throughout the illegal population.

"There's no question there's a variety of suggestions that people are in fact returning," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. "Remittances, which is the money immigrants send home to Mexico, have gone down dramatically over the past year. Again, probably part the economy, but also part enforcement, leading to fewer people being here."

Advocates for immigrants are disturbed by the trend. Albert Ruiz, an organizer for the League of United Latin American Citizens, agrees that more undocumented immigrants are going home — but says families are being torn apart in the process.

If a father is deported, Ruiz says, his family members in America are forced either to fend for themselves or follow him to a country where they've never even lived.

"So the mother is saying we should return home with the breadwinner of the family to Mexico, and the children are saying, I don't want to leave, I'm a U.S. citizen, I don't know that country," said Ruiz. (Boo freaking hoo, the parents put their children in that situation)

Mexican President Felipe Calderon plans to help returning nationals by providing food, medical care and temporary shelter if needed. But reports are already out in Mexico that the large number of illegal immigrants returning home could drive down wages and put pressure on social services — the same concerns many Americans have with illegals living and working in the U.S.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,409221,00.html

Money sent home by Mexicans drops sharply
153 commentsSept. 1, 2008 02:17 PM
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY - The amount of money Mexicans sent home suffered its sharpest drop on record in July as the U.S. economy slowed and the dollar fell, Mexico's central bank reported Monday.

Remittances - Mexico's second-largest legal source of foreign income after oil - dropped by 6.9 percent in July compared to the year before.

"This is the sharpest drop we have seen," said Jesus Cervantes, director of economic measurement for Mexico's central bank. The worst previous year-over-year monthly decline was 6.3 percent in January.

Cervantes said that over 20 percent of Mexican migrants work in construction in the United States, a sector hit particularly hard by the U.S. mortgage crisis. "Basically, the job situation for Mexican migrants in the United States has become complicated," he said.

Records dating back to 1995 on the central bank's Web site showed no greater monthly fall, and records kept before then are considered unreliable.

Mexicans who depend on money sent home are also suffering from an 8 percent drop in the value of the U.S. dollar against the Mexican peso this year.

The bank said remittances for the first seven months of the year are 2.9 percent below 2008 - a level the bank expects to continue through year's end.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl....html#comments

This was posted by someone on the site:

Finally, some good news in the paper.

What will be next?
1. Waiting times in Emergency Rooms get shorter as fewer illegals are seeking treatment.
2. Prison system over funded as Mexicans tend to stay in Mexico vs. American jails. Extra money used to pay for more border security.
3. Arizona freshman pays for college with money saved from local lawn care business during High School.
4. Murder, rape and theft numbers plummet as border fence is completed.
5. Government printing costs and related expenses lowest in decades due to the fact that only English language is required.
6. Restaurants in Arizona announce that they will celebrate 4th of July instead of Cinco de Mayo. Local people turn out in droves.
7. Local teen is embarrassed by her Mexican cousin who attempted to shoplift, steal car and "Tag" at west valley mall.

No money sent to Mexico = no reason for them to come here.

Yay! It's working! The money being cut off has nothing to do with the exchange rate or the housing/construction industry. It has everything to do with Employer Sanctions, e-verify and Sheriff Joe's enforcement.

Keep it up Sheriff Joe. These leeches will stop coming North and sending our money South.

Affidavit: Driver Ran To Hooters After Ice Cream Crash
Girlfriend Says Suspect Cried, Said He Killed People

POSTED: 6:18 pm MDT September 10, 2008
UPDATED: 6:43 pm MDT September 10, 2008


DENVER -- The driver accused of causing a horrific crash at an Aurora ice cream shop that killed three people, including a 3-year-old boy, ran to a nearby Hooters, according to an affidavit released Wednesday.

Police said Hernandez was the driver of a Chevrolet Suburban that ran a red light and collided with a Mazda pickup truck. The Mazda hit two Xcel power boxes, shearing off the cover of one, which flew through the glass windows of a Baskin Robbins store.

Inside, waiting for ice cream with his mother, was 3-year-old Marten Kudlis. He died after being pulled from the wreckage. Two women in the pickup, Patricia Guntharp, 49, and Debra Serecky, 51, were killed instantly.

According to the affidavit, Hernandez ran to the Hooters at 2610 S. Parker Road because, "he was afraid he would be taken to jail because he had no insurance, no driver's license and that would prevent him from seeing his kids."

While there, he called his girlfriend Brenda Aleman to come pick him up, according to the affidavit. When Aleman picked Hernandez up, he "began to cry, stating he believed he had just killed four people," the affidavit read.

Aleman took Hernandez back to their apartment on Girard Avenue where police were waiting and took him into custody, according to the affidavit.

While at the apartment, officers saw a cut on his left ear, a contusion on the left check, an abrasion on his shoulder and multiple scratches on Hernandez's stomach, face and hands, the affidavit said.

Police later learned that Hernandez is an illegal immigrant and had been arrested more than a dozen times since 2003 by nine different state police departments. Some of the arrests were for criminal impersonation and forgery; the bulk were for traffic violations, including driving without a license and without insurance.

Hernandez faces charges of vehicular homicide, hit-and-run and reckless driving, and ICE has placed a hold on him. Hernandez's attorney, Kallman Elinoff, said he doesn't know whether his client is in the country illegally but that the issue is irrelevant to the case.

A funeral was held Wednesday morning for a 3-year-old boy killed at a Baskin Robbins ice cream store.

Family Buries Boy Killed In Ice Cream Crash

At the start of Wednesday's service, held at the chapel at Fairmount Cemetery, Marten's father cried, "I really loved him."

Marat Kudlis then yelled, "That *******!" referring to the man many people blame for causing the crash.

But it wasn't anger that permeated the ceremony. It was instead a deep sorrow.

"This burden feels like more than we can bear because it is so sudden. It's a parent's worst nightmare," said the rabbi presiding over the Russian Jewish service. "It does not seem fair and it is not fair to lose someone so young."

The first song played at the service was Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven."

Marten's uncle, Eddie Kudlis, choked out words between sobs.

"I called him monster, my little monster. He was everything but," Eddie Kudlis said. He prayed to his mother -- Marten's grandmother -- who died just last year.

"Mom, help my little monster, my little buddy," Eddie Kudlis said.

The Kudlis family took solace in the rabbi's words -- that Marten is now with God and now has everlasting life in their hearts.

Marten was born in Estonia and had just learned to ride a bicycle. Inside his open casket was a teddy bear.

During the service, the family played a video montage of Marten and played songs sung by children in Estonia.

After the funeral, some people drove back to the crash site, home of a memorial which has grown exponentially and covers half the distance between the sidewalk and the boarded up facade.

"I helped pull Martin out of the building. I was right there with him. He squeezed my hand. I held his hand until he passed on," said Duane Stokes. "My fiance and I were just saying a prayer to Marten and just getting one last glimpse of everything around here. Just to say our goodbyes to him."

The owner of the Baskin Robbins wants to rebuild his store and reopen by Friday. He said he's received permission to donate the hundreds of stuffed animals, cards and flowers at the site to charity.

Guntharp's funeral is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Horan and McConaty Mortuary at 11150 E. Dartmouth Ave. Serecky's cremation service will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at Fairmount Mortuary. Both are open to the public.

Serecky's husband said he was thankful for his wife's coworkers at Albertson's.

"The Albertson's people she worked with they were -- it was like a light through the tunnel. I was totally distraught. They went to the accident and put up a plywood with a card and had customers and coworkers come and sign the card. I left the card in the Albertson's parking lot so people can have their finish with her. They are going to have a plaque mounted outside of Albertson's wall, near the smoker's area, in her name. I think that is really stepping up, that she touched a lot of people. I think it is outstanding that a grocery store would do that. It shows that people really cared about her."

Her coworkers said she will never be forgotten.

"Debbie was like the best person to work with. She was like my personal diary ... I told her everything and she was always there for everybody. She was like everybody's mom," said Serecky's co-worker Kerry Hettick.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...64/detail.html

Maybe I am wrong, but I can't believe someone from both camps have not been here and relayed this thread to someone who can hand them off to the two that are running for the highest office in the land.

Both of the mainline party candidates claim they know what the American people want. I beg to differ. They are totally out of touch with the American people

I have said it before and I will say it again. Both of them make me want to gag and puke.

Judge halts immigrant rental ban in Dallas suburb
By LINDA STEWART BALL, Associated Press Writer
1 hour hour, 20 minutes ago

DALLAS - A federal judge on Friday stopped a Dallas suburb's latest attempt to drive away illegal immigrants, ruling that Farmers Branch cannot enforce a ban on apartment rentals to those who can't prove they live legally in the country.

U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle's temporary restraining order stopped an ordinance that had been set to go into effect Saturday. The ordinance was intended to replace a similar measure that was struck down in federal court.

"We're very disappointed in Judge Boyle's view of the ordinance, but we're confident that ultimately it will be upheld by the federal court system," said Michael Jung, the attorney representing the city of Farmers Branch.

The judge said the ordinance has the potential to cause irreparable injury to landlords who are likely to lose business to neighboring cities that don't have similar laws.

In addition, she said the criminal penalties imposed on rental property owners who don't comply could be a "substantial threat" and cause irreparable harm.

In any case, the judge said the ordinance basically decides who can live in the city and poses a "slippery slope" should city officials attempt to override the role of the federal government on immigration matters.

She said the court will follow up shortly with a preliminary injunction hearing. That will allow the merits of the case to be fully heard.

Tim O'Hare, who steered the city's campaign against illegal immigrants as a first-term councilman and has since been elected its mayor, said he was not surprised by the decision. He also remained confident the ordinance will prevail, he said.

"I think the judge is wrong," O'Hare said. "I think the will of the people of Farmers Branch is not being carried out. I think you'll ultimately see this matter resolved in the U.S. Supreme Court."

The measure required prospective apartment and house renters to obtain a city license. Under the rule, the city would forward information from the license application to the federal government for verification of a tenant's immigration status.

Mary Miller Smith, a former Farmers Branch city councilwoman who leases an apartment and opposes the ordinance, said she was "totally, totally, totally ecstatic" by the ruling.

"The thought of having to get a license to live in Farmers Branch was totally repulsive to me," said Smith, who is part of the federal lawsuit filed by a group of landlords.

Bill Brewer, who represents a group of rental ban opponents, said "we're very pleased Judge Boyle took the time to look at the ordinance" and carefully consider the facts.

The restraining order stems from a lawsuit — one of several the city faces in a continuing nearly two-year battle over measures attempting to keep illegal immigrants from living in the city of about 28,000.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080913/...4x4bUycYVH2ocA

U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle

http://dockets.justia.com/browse/sta...e/judge-Boyle/

http://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/judges/boyle.html

21 Arrested In Chinese Restaurant Probe
Warrants Delivered Wednesday, Officials Say

POSTED: 2:40 pm PDT September 18, 2008
UPDATED: 8:00 pm PDT September 18, 2008


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Agents arrested 21 illegal immigrant workers after serving warrants at two Chinese restaurants and homes linked to the businesses, U.S. Immigration and Customs officials said Thursday.

Search warrants were delivered Wednesday to King's Buffet in Vacaville and the Empire Buffet in Vallejo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

A second Empire Buffet restaurant in San Pablo was also investigated but was not searched, officials said.

The arrests were made as part of an ongoing ICE investigation into possible hiring of illegal workers and alien harboring, officials said.

“No business, regardless of size, type or location, is immune from complying with the law,” said Daniel Lane, assistant special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations. “All too often, illegal alien workers are exploited in some fashion by the businesses that hire them, and that is unacceptable. Our investigation in this case is ongoing and we will go where the evidence leads us.”

Of those arrested, 13 were found at the restaurants and eight others were found at the two homes linked to the businesses' owners.

Agents who searched the homes said they found rodent droppings and roaches and that it appeared all of the homes were being used to house a large number of people, officials said.

The investigation started after local law enforcement agents were called about suspicious activity at a Vacaville home at 843 Purple Sage Drive.

"They would come in late at night and would leave early in the morning," said neighbor Kristen Cowan.

The illegal immigrant workers came from six countries -- China, Mexico, Guatemala, Indonesia, Singapore and Honduras -- officials said.

After being interviewed, one of the workers was released on humanitarian grounds pending a future hearing.

The remaining workers were brought to detention facilities where they will await a hearing before a federal immigration judge.

http://www.kcra.com/cnn-news/17507418/detail.html