Firebeef
12-14-2006, 09:00
This is major news in CO, and especially the town I call home. It's a national problem. There are major implications about our border security, or lack thereof, and shines a halogen spot-light on how easy it is for illegals to obtain "legal documentation". It also shines a bright light on employers. When they are willing to pay living wages for the less than glamorous jobs, maybe we can ween ourselves from illegal labor forces.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5210334,00.html
Rocky Mountain News
December 13, 2006
GREELEY - Federal agents raided six Swift & Co. meat-processing plants in Colorado and five other states Tuesday, rounding up hundreds of workers as part of a nationwide investigation into identify theft involving suspected illegal immigrants.
The sweeps stirred dramatic scenes inside and outside the plants, where operations ceased and workers' relatives gathered, some holding immigration documents, others fretting about who would pick up children, oblivious to their parents' fate, from school.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, packing bundles of handcuffs, swept through the plants as part of a nearly yearlong investigation into several identity- theft rings. Agents said workers were being arrested on immigration charges and, in some cases, on criminal warrants.
The raid in Greeley began about 7:30 a.m.
While worried, weeping relatives - and later in the day, angry protesters - empathized with those detained, ICE agents said the raids stemmed from a scheme in which illegal immigrants bought the stolen identities and Social Security numbers of U.S. citizens.
"Evidence uncovered during the investigation indicates that large numbers of illegal aliens may have illegally assumed the identities of U.S. citizens to gain employment at Swift facilities," said an ICE spokeswoman in Iowa.
'Very aggressively'
In Washington, ICE chief Julie L. Myers said agents were looking "very aggressively" at who might have sold the identities to workers.
Opponents of illegal immigration, including some members of Colorado's congressional delegation, cheered the raid and urged ICE to go after Swift officials if they knowingly hired illegal immigrants or those with false documents.
There was no indication of any charges against Swift officials Tuesday, although agents did interview plant representatives, including general managers and others, a Swift official said Tuesday.
Swift, headquartered in Greeley, describes itself as the world's second-largest processor of fresh beef and pork. Raids also were carried out at Swift facilities in Worthington, Minn.; Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; and Marshalltown, Iowa.
The company's CEO, Sam Rovit, issued a written statement saying the company has "never condoned the employment of unauthorized workers, nor have we ever knowingly hired such individuals."
But he also pushed back at federal agents, saying the company believes the raids raise "serious questions as to the government's possible violation of individual workers' civil rights" and violated a 2002 consent decree between Swift and the government related to the company's participation in a federal program designed to help identify workers.
'War on our people'
Meanwhile, workers' families, activists and community officials in several areas that are home to Swift facilities criticized the sweeps. Many workers who were taken by ICE had attended an early-morning Mass before their shifts to celebrate the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, an important day in the Hispanic community that commemorates the apparition of the Virgin Mary to a peasant.
"This is a day we should all be celebrating," said Lupe Tapia, 22, whose sister Melicia, 19, was being held inside the plant by ICE officials.
"We're fighting a war in Iraq, but they've declared war on our people," said Felipe Martinez, whose wife, Maria, was taken away.
Confianza, an association of Hispanic ministers, issued a blistering statement calling the raids "unconscionable," saying ICE "overstepped the bounds of decency and respect" and left families confused and facing an uncertain future.
"Furthermore, it is deplorable that Americans who happen to have brown skin and work at Swift were also 'rounded up with the idea to sort it out later, as one local community leader described the situation,' " the organization said.
In Grand Island, schools Superintendent Steve Joel, fearful of stranded children, said schools would stay open all night and "someone will be there to take care of them."
The worry about the effects of the raid extended even to local law enforcement, with Grand Island Police Chief Steve Lamken refusing to allow his personnel to take part in the sweep.
"This is our community," Lamken said. "When this is all over, we're still here taking care of our community. And if I have a significant part of my population that's fearful and won't call us, then that's not good for our community."
Tancredo hails raid
Colorado's congressional delegation weighed in loudly, with Rep. Tom Tancredo hailing the raid, congratulating law enforcement and adding: "My hope at this point is that the U.S. government has the courage to prosecute the Swift & Co. executives who may have been complicit in their hiring."
That call was echoed by U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, whose district includes Greeley.
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, meanwhile, said the raids sound a "clarion call" for Congress to move on comprehensive immigration reform, which bogged down this year.
He noted that the move will have a "strong ripple effect on the rest of the livestock industry."
"Weld County is the most profitable agricultural county in Colorado, with over $1 billion in agricultural sales," Salazar said. "Today's move by ICE will greatly impact the economy there."
The raids took an immediate toll on Swift, with production halted at four beef plants and two pork plants, although production was expected to be restored today. Cattle prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange dropped several percentage points on the news.
"We've never seen anything like this in the history of the meatpacking business," said D.A. Davidson & Co. analyst Tim Ramey, who upgraded a rival meat processor to a "buy" rating on the news.
Swift first became aware of the agency's interest in March, when ICE subpoenaed information on all the employees working at Swift's Marshalltown plant. During the summer, ICE asked for forms on the rest of Swift's workers nationwide.
"At no time did the government, with us, try to communicate the nature of their concerns," said Sean McHugh, Swift vice president of investor relations. "We tried to reach out to them and say, 'Look, if you're concerned, if you're trying to identify or remove or arrest criminals, let us know and we'll bring them to you.' "
In September, the agency granted Swift a meeting, "but details were few and far between," McHugh said.
The raids came as little surprise to Swift management.
"By mid-November, ICE informed us they intended, with or without our cooperation, to effectively shut down six of our plants," McHugh said.
Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who had reviewed evidence beforehand, believed the operation was supposed to take place Monday but speculated that ICE officials put the operation off a day after learning that Japanese officials were touring the Greeley plant Monday.
The foreign officials were there to review Swift's response to having recently shipped beef to Japan without proper documentation. The bad shipment caused Japan to halt beef imports from Swift's Greeley plant last month, the Greeley Tribune reported.
Raid backers, including Buck, said it bolstered their case that ICE should open an office in Greeley.
That 2005 request contributed to tensions in a community where perceptions about crime and cultural differences have bubbled. About 27 percent of Weld County's population is Hispanic.
Official arrest numbers were not released Tuesday, but some estimates suggest as many as 300 workers were detained at the Greeley plant.
"I don't know yet what the numbers are - the number of illegal immigrants who were working at the Swift plant," Buck said.
"If it's a fairly large number, I think it substantiates the belief of many in this community that we have a large number of illegal immigrants that are working here and living here.
"And those illegal immigrants that commit serious crimes - I think there is a strong feeling in the community that they should be deported."
What's next
Tuesday's raid of the Swift & Co. meat-processing plant in Greeley will have long-term consequences. What does it mean:
• Plant operations: By the end of Tuesday, Swift had its operations up and running on a limited basis at all its plants. A spokesman said it would probably be a week before the plants can resume normal operations.
:munchin
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5210334,00.html
Rocky Mountain News
December 13, 2006
GREELEY - Federal agents raided six Swift & Co. meat-processing plants in Colorado and five other states Tuesday, rounding up hundreds of workers as part of a nationwide investigation into identify theft involving suspected illegal immigrants.
The sweeps stirred dramatic scenes inside and outside the plants, where operations ceased and workers' relatives gathered, some holding immigration documents, others fretting about who would pick up children, oblivious to their parents' fate, from school.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, packing bundles of handcuffs, swept through the plants as part of a nearly yearlong investigation into several identity- theft rings. Agents said workers were being arrested on immigration charges and, in some cases, on criminal warrants.
The raid in Greeley began about 7:30 a.m.
While worried, weeping relatives - and later in the day, angry protesters - empathized with those detained, ICE agents said the raids stemmed from a scheme in which illegal immigrants bought the stolen identities and Social Security numbers of U.S. citizens.
"Evidence uncovered during the investigation indicates that large numbers of illegal aliens may have illegally assumed the identities of U.S. citizens to gain employment at Swift facilities," said an ICE spokeswoman in Iowa.
'Very aggressively'
In Washington, ICE chief Julie L. Myers said agents were looking "very aggressively" at who might have sold the identities to workers.
Opponents of illegal immigration, including some members of Colorado's congressional delegation, cheered the raid and urged ICE to go after Swift officials if they knowingly hired illegal immigrants or those with false documents.
There was no indication of any charges against Swift officials Tuesday, although agents did interview plant representatives, including general managers and others, a Swift official said Tuesday.
Swift, headquartered in Greeley, describes itself as the world's second-largest processor of fresh beef and pork. Raids also were carried out at Swift facilities in Worthington, Minn.; Grand Island, Neb.; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; and Marshalltown, Iowa.
The company's CEO, Sam Rovit, issued a written statement saying the company has "never condoned the employment of unauthorized workers, nor have we ever knowingly hired such individuals."
But he also pushed back at federal agents, saying the company believes the raids raise "serious questions as to the government's possible violation of individual workers' civil rights" and violated a 2002 consent decree between Swift and the government related to the company's participation in a federal program designed to help identify workers.
'War on our people'
Meanwhile, workers' families, activists and community officials in several areas that are home to Swift facilities criticized the sweeps. Many workers who were taken by ICE had attended an early-morning Mass before their shifts to celebrate the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, an important day in the Hispanic community that commemorates the apparition of the Virgin Mary to a peasant.
"This is a day we should all be celebrating," said Lupe Tapia, 22, whose sister Melicia, 19, was being held inside the plant by ICE officials.
"We're fighting a war in Iraq, but they've declared war on our people," said Felipe Martinez, whose wife, Maria, was taken away.
Confianza, an association of Hispanic ministers, issued a blistering statement calling the raids "unconscionable," saying ICE "overstepped the bounds of decency and respect" and left families confused and facing an uncertain future.
"Furthermore, it is deplorable that Americans who happen to have brown skin and work at Swift were also 'rounded up with the idea to sort it out later, as one local community leader described the situation,' " the organization said.
In Grand Island, schools Superintendent Steve Joel, fearful of stranded children, said schools would stay open all night and "someone will be there to take care of them."
The worry about the effects of the raid extended even to local law enforcement, with Grand Island Police Chief Steve Lamken refusing to allow his personnel to take part in the sweep.
"This is our community," Lamken said. "When this is all over, we're still here taking care of our community. And if I have a significant part of my population that's fearful and won't call us, then that's not good for our community."
Tancredo hails raid
Colorado's congressional delegation weighed in loudly, with Rep. Tom Tancredo hailing the raid, congratulating law enforcement and adding: "My hope at this point is that the U.S. government has the courage to prosecute the Swift & Co. executives who may have been complicit in their hiring."
That call was echoed by U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, whose district includes Greeley.
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, meanwhile, said the raids sound a "clarion call" for Congress to move on comprehensive immigration reform, which bogged down this year.
He noted that the move will have a "strong ripple effect on the rest of the livestock industry."
"Weld County is the most profitable agricultural county in Colorado, with over $1 billion in agricultural sales," Salazar said. "Today's move by ICE will greatly impact the economy there."
The raids took an immediate toll on Swift, with production halted at four beef plants and two pork plants, although production was expected to be restored today. Cattle prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange dropped several percentage points on the news.
"We've never seen anything like this in the history of the meatpacking business," said D.A. Davidson & Co. analyst Tim Ramey, who upgraded a rival meat processor to a "buy" rating on the news.
Swift first became aware of the agency's interest in March, when ICE subpoenaed information on all the employees working at Swift's Marshalltown plant. During the summer, ICE asked for forms on the rest of Swift's workers nationwide.
"At no time did the government, with us, try to communicate the nature of their concerns," said Sean McHugh, Swift vice president of investor relations. "We tried to reach out to them and say, 'Look, if you're concerned, if you're trying to identify or remove or arrest criminals, let us know and we'll bring them to you.' "
In September, the agency granted Swift a meeting, "but details were few and far between," McHugh said.
The raids came as little surprise to Swift management.
"By mid-November, ICE informed us they intended, with or without our cooperation, to effectively shut down six of our plants," McHugh said.
Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who had reviewed evidence beforehand, believed the operation was supposed to take place Monday but speculated that ICE officials put the operation off a day after learning that Japanese officials were touring the Greeley plant Monday.
The foreign officials were there to review Swift's response to having recently shipped beef to Japan without proper documentation. The bad shipment caused Japan to halt beef imports from Swift's Greeley plant last month, the Greeley Tribune reported.
Raid backers, including Buck, said it bolstered their case that ICE should open an office in Greeley.
That 2005 request contributed to tensions in a community where perceptions about crime and cultural differences have bubbled. About 27 percent of Weld County's population is Hispanic.
Official arrest numbers were not released Tuesday, but some estimates suggest as many as 300 workers were detained at the Greeley plant.
"I don't know yet what the numbers are - the number of illegal immigrants who were working at the Swift plant," Buck said.
"If it's a fairly large number, I think it substantiates the belief of many in this community that we have a large number of illegal immigrants that are working here and living here.
"And those illegal immigrants that commit serious crimes - I think there is a strong feeling in the community that they should be deported."
What's next
Tuesday's raid of the Swift & Co. meat-processing plant in Greeley will have long-term consequences. What does it mean:
• Plant operations: By the end of Tuesday, Swift had its operations up and running on a limited basis at all its plants. A spokesman said it would probably be a week before the plants can resume normal operations.
:munchin