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| Feds arrest nearly 390 in Iowa meatpacker raid |
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By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — In what has been called the largest federal dragnet in American history, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested nearly 400 illegal aliens during a May 12 raid at Agriprocessors, Inc., the world’s largest kosher meatpacking plant.
“This is not the first time this office has been a part of a criminal worksite enforcement operation,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa Matt Dummermuth, at a news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Cedar Rapids. “However, this is the largest operation of its type ever in Iowa.”
Last week’s raid stemmed from a criminal investigation that started in October when federal, state and local authorities were tipped off by unidentified company sources to possible illegal employment practices at the sprawling, 60-acre plant in the small northeastern Iowa town of Postville.
Spearheaded by ICE, a total of 16 local, state and federal agencies joined last fall’s investigation, which included the U.S. Marshals Service, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the FBI, the USDA, the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the Waterloo Police Department and the Postville Police Department.
During the raid, ICE agents served company officials with 697 criminal search warrants for the 390 individuals in question. ICE agents wouldn’t comment about the 307 others in question, or whether company officials would face criminal charges.
In a statement released May 14, Agriprocessors officials said they intend to cooperate with the government’s investigation.
“Our company takes the immigration laws seriously … We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families whose lives were disrupted and wish them the best,” the statement read. “We are deeply committed to meeting the needs of all of our customers and are operating again today.”
According to the May 9 search warrant application and affidavit, over the past two years, ICE agents had been receiving information about immigration violations, as well as some plant employees running a methamphetamine lab and bringing weapons to work.
Moreover, the affidavit said ICE agents used various sources, including former Agriprocessors employees and an informant working in the plant who was wearing a wire, before the arrests were made.
Dummermuth said the federal sting operation sought to gather evidence of allegations of aggravated identity theft, stolen Social Security numbers, illegal reentry into the United States and fraudulent use of alien registration cards.
“This has been an unprecedented undertaking in nearly all respects,” he said. “Since May 12, ICE agents, other law enforcement partners and attorneys and support staff from my office have worked literally around the clock to process those administratively arrested in Postville and determine who would face criminal arrest. To have this completed within three days is phenomenal.”
Of the 390 arrested, 314 are men and 76 are women, the majority of whom are from Guatemala, Mexico and eastern Europe, with many still refusing to be identified, ICE agents said. They added that those arrested were transported by bus to and held at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo and local jails, where 154 now face criminal felony charges and deportation hearings.
“ICE is committed to enforcing the nation’s immigration laws in the workplace to maintain the integrity of the immigration system,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Bloomington, Minn. “We carry out that obligation in a fair and responsible manner, ensuring humanitarian needs are taken into consideration.”
Bob Teig, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, said all of those taken into custody during the raid were interviewed by ICE agents and public health service officers to determine if they had health, caregiver or other humanitarian concerns.
As a result of those interviews, he said more than 40 have been released on humanitarian grounds under supervision, pending future immigration proceedings. Teig added that 18 of those arrested were juveniles, ages 13-17, and were released to an adult or turned over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
At the news conference, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said he was told the week before that there would be some kind of federal action. He said both illegal aliens and companies that knowingly hire such workers should be prosecuted.
“Illegal means illegal – not just those who are crossing the border illegally but those who are responsible for helping to make it happen,” he said.
Despite some organizations – including the American Civil Liberties Union – opposing last Monday’s raid, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said ICE agents shouldn’t be faulted for doing their jobs.
“If there were workers that are here illegally, we can’t ignore the problem and we must make sure our laws are enforced,” he said. “However, this shows again that the current system is broken.
“Agriculture is significantly impacted to varying degrees on both the production and processing side by the issue of immigration. We need a comprehensive solution that gives agriculture access to a legal and sufficient workforce.”
Preliminary hearings for 10 men held in Waterloo are scheduled for May 28 in Cedar Rapids, according to the city’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The last illegal immigration raid in Iowa occurred on Dec. 12, 2006, when 99 were arrested at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Marshalltown, which was one of six Swift plants raided across the country, resulting in 1,297 arrests.
This farm news was published in the May 21, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 5/21/2008 |
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