By Lynda Waddington
The Iowa Independent
11/25/09 3:47 PM
Smoldering culture clashes reignite in Postville
Defense attorneys for Sholom Rubashkin continue to assert that their client, despite being recently convicted on 86 fraud-related charges, is not a flight risk and should be granted bail pending sentencing.
Late last week U.S. District Chief Judge Linda R. Reade ruled that Rubashkin, who served as the on-site manager at a Postville kosher meatpacking plant that was raided by federal authorities in May 2008, should be held without bail, pending his upcoming sentencing on numerous fraud and money laundering charges. This week, defense attorneys for Rubashkin filed an appeal of that decision, and have requested the court to impose more sanctions on their client to ensure his lack of flight.
…Defendant Rubashkin would respectfully submit a continuation of the prior conditions with additional conditions will ensure Defendant’s appearance at sentencing or any other court proceeding. On November 18, 2009, Defendant Rubashkin presented evidence that individuals stood ready and willing to post equity in their homes which totaled nearly $8,000,000. Additionally, sacred religious scrolls of nearly $500,000 were offered; the significance of the same in the Jewish religion, however, is priceless. Additionally, Defendant Rubashkin has requested the Court consider evidence presented at pretrial detention hearing. … Conditions such as curfew, home detention, or home incarceration may be ordered. Moreover, the Court may now subject Defendant Rubashkin to 24-hour armed surveillance and order Defendant Rubashkin to pay for the same…
Rubashkin and his wife, Leah, reside in the Postville area and are in the process of raising 10 children. One of the younger children, a son, has a developmental disability and, according to documents filed with the court, is extremely close to his father.
The Jewish community in Postville and beyond has long argued that Rubashkin’s religious faith and the bonds that he has formed in Iowa would prevent him from fleeing charges or criminal conviction.
In a perhaps naive move to show their solidarity and support of the Rubashkin family, some members of the Jewish community in Postville have placed signs in their windows and yards that placed a photograph of Rubashkin on top of an American flag with the phrase, “Send Sholom Home!” The signs, which area military veterans viewed as being akin to support signs for Prisoners Of War, have reignited cultural unrest within Postville, and are being offered up as further proof that the insular Jewish community there doesn’t fully understand the social ramifications of its actions, however well-meaning.
In the wake of Rubashkin’s conviction, University of Iowa professor Stephen Bloom, who authored a 2000 book about Postville, told The Iowa Independent that he knew “from the very beginning [that] almost all of Sholom Rubashkin’s actions reflected an mind-boggling sense of imperial disregard for just about everything that ethical, law-abiding people hold as plain and simple rules of civic and financial engagement.”
“Rubashkin always played very fast and very loose. He and his lieutenants seemed to be not just above the law, but above how employers and business people normally carry out their everyday tasks. There was an air of supreme arrogance swirling around Rubashkin and his men, particularly when it came to paying bills and accounting for those bills.”
Because the Rubashkin family came to Postville to begin a new community instead of joining with the existing one, Bloom said that a certain culture clash was simply inevitable.
“The larger issue to me wasn’t so much blending into the existing culture, it was a sense that Rubashkin and his men had come to town and really didn’t give a damn about anyone or anything — except making money their way. They were the new guys in Northeast Iowa, and what they said, went. If you didn’t like it, well, that was just too bad,” he said.
The sentiment of “you better get used to how we do business because we call the shots now” was one Bloom and others came to expect from Rubashkin and others within the Jewish community.
Bloom also predicted that the guilty verdict would spur “scores of Rubashkin loyalists to scream” anti-Semitism. Indeed, just hours after Rubashkin was taken into custody, the official a prominent Chabad Web site asserted that Rubashkin had been denied basic religious rights by federal authorities, and in the comments to that post as well as others on the site it has been suggested that “a frumer yid” doesn’t “deserve to be in jail together with goyishe criminals”:
now is certainly not the time to stand in judgement of sholom mordechai to decide whether or nor not he deserves to be in jail. He made some mistakes, I’mm sure he would not repeat, given what he is facing now. However, does a frumer yid deserve to be in a jail together with goyishe criminals? Absolutely NOT! EVERY SINGLE STOP needs to be pulled out to free him! INSTEAD of sending aroisgevorfener e-mails and faxes to stupid goyim – you should be banging down the doors of ALL “shluchim” who sat and ate like chazeirim at a “gala banquet” and who know and have contacts with key political top-dogs, that can have influence with senators, governors, congressmen/women, presidents, etc. THESE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU SHOULD MAKE THIER LIFE A LIVING H**L UNTIL they do something! that’s the only way anything can change for Sholom Mordechai. (al pi tevah) CALL, CALL, CALL, WRITE, FAX, FAX, FAX, 10-20-30 times a day until they poshut go nuts – and then they will do something! WHAT GOOD ARE THEY, AND WHAT GOOD ARE THIER CONNECTIONS IF NOT FOR THIS INYAN!? At least, if they are not doing the Rebbe’s shlichus, let them get a yid out of prison!
http://iowaindependent.com/22829/rubashkin-appeals-court-ordered-detention
Showing posts with label Postville IA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Postville IA. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Rubashkin material witnesses to be freed
DesMoines Register
From Register staff and news services
November 27, 2009
Cedar Rapids, Ia. — A judge will release 24 illegal immigrants held as material witnesses in the federal case against the manager of a former kosher slaughterhouse in Postville.
The former Agriprocessors Inc. employees were to be deported after they served a jail sentence that followed their arrest in an immigration raid in May 2008. But deportation was delayed so they could testify in the trial of former plant manager Sholom Rubashkin.
Rubashkin was convicted of 86 counts of financial fraud, and the immigration charges were dropped. The former workers have been authorized to work, but it's unclear whether they will be deported.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091127/NEWS01/911270349/-1/ENT05/Rubashkin-material-witnesses-to-be-freed
From Register staff and news services
November 27, 2009
Cedar Rapids, Ia. — A judge will release 24 illegal immigrants held as material witnesses in the federal case against the manager of a former kosher slaughterhouse in Postville.
The former Agriprocessors Inc. employees were to be deported after they served a jail sentence that followed their arrest in an immigration raid in May 2008. But deportation was delayed so they could testify in the trial of former plant manager Sholom Rubashkin.
Rubashkin was convicted of 86 counts of financial fraud, and the immigration charges were dropped. The former workers have been authorized to work, but it's unclear whether they will be deported.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091127/NEWS01/911270349/-1/ENT05/Rubashkin-material-witnesses-to-be-freed
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Iowa: Immigration Charges Dropped in Raid Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 20, 2009
National Briefing Midwest
A federal judge dismissed dozens of immigration charges against the former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse, at the request of prosecutors who won a conviction last week against the man on multiple counts of financial fraud. Prosecutors said a conviction in that case would not affect the term of the man, Sholom Rubashkin, because he was convicted of the charges with the longest sentences. Both cases stemmed from a raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville in May 2008. Investigators found 389 illegal immigrants working at the plant.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/us/20brfs-IMMIGRATIONC_BRF.html?ref=us
November 20, 2009
National Briefing Midwest
A federal judge dismissed dozens of immigration charges against the former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse, at the request of prosecutors who won a conviction last week against the man on multiple counts of financial fraud. Prosecutors said a conviction in that case would not affect the term of the man, Sholom Rubashkin, because he was convicted of the charges with the longest sentences. Both cases stemmed from a raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville in May 2008. Investigators found 389 illegal immigrants working at the plant.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/us/20brfs-IMMIGRATIONC_BRF.html?ref=us
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Kosher slaughterhouse manager convicted of fraud
By Grant Schulte
USA TODAY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse was found guilty on all but five of the 91 felony fraud charges he faced for his role in a massive bank fraud scheme at his former meat plant, Agriprocessors Inc., in Postville.
Jurors declared Sholom Rubashkin, the former vice president at Agriprocessors Inc. guilty of bank fraud, making false statements to a bank, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.
Rubashkin also was convicted Thursday of 15 of 20 charges that he ignored an order to pay livestock providers in the 24-hour window required by law.
Rubashkin is the sixth high-level Agriprocessors manager convicted of federal charges, although he most likely will face the most severe prison sentence. The other five — two line managers, two financial officers, and the human resources director — all struck plea deals and testified against Rubashkin.
Rubashkin, 50, was taken into custody, despite protests from his lawyers. As federal marshals led him out of the courtroom, he turned and blew a kiss to his family and well-wishers.
Rubashkin showed little emotion as U.S. District Judge Linda Reade read each verdict, a process that took nearly an hour to complete. At several points, he turned and looked at his family. Once he looked down and shook his head.
His lawyer, Guy Cook, said Rubashkin will appeal after his sentencing at undetermined date in Cedar Rapids. The defense team also will push for his release on bail pending a second trial on 72 immigration charges that begins Dec. 2.
Rubashkin's wife, Leah, said she was not sure whether the family would remain in Postville, a town that has relied heavily on the kosher meat plant founded by the family patriarch in 1987.
"We know he's innocent, and we look forward to his appeal," she said on the courthouse steps. "Obviously, this is not a pleasant thing."
Rubashkin's children, who showed no emotion as Reade read the verdicts, said their Jewish faith would help their father.
"We're in God's hands, and it's going to be good," Getzel Rubashkin said.
Rubashkin's oldest daughter, Roza Weiss, said: "It's unbelievable. My only comment is, we're Jewish and we're proud of it."
Federal prosecutor Peter Deegan Jr. referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Cedar Rapids. A call to the office spokesman was not returned.
Deegan asked Reade to place Rubashkin in federal custody immediately because of concerns that he might flee. Rubashkin likely will face "a lengthy sentence," Deegan said.
The courtroom was half-full as the five-man, seven-woman jury returned. Aaron Rubashkin — Sholom's father, the family patriarch, and the plant's founder — walked in as Reade read the first charges, heard the word "guilty," and slid into a chair with a blank expression.
Federal prosecutors had offered Rubashkin a plea deal before the trial began. Rubashkin told supporters that he would not accept it because he was innocent, a family friend told The Des Moines Register on Thursday.
Rabbi Shea Hecht, chairman of the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education, said Rubashkin's supporters urged him to take the offer, which would have included prison time.
Rubashkin had "moral problems" with the proposal and insisted that he had done nothing illegal, Hecht said.
The plea-deal conversation took place during a meeting with Rubashkin and his lawyers in Crown Heights, a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood and Rubashkin family stronghold, Hecht said.
He said it happened shortly before Yom Kippur, a major Jewish holiday, which began this year at sunset on Sept. 27.
Cook, Rubashkin's attorney, declined to comment about the plea deal.
Hecht said Rubashkin's legal expenses — paid by a Brooklyn defense committee, of which he is a member — have exceeded $1 million.
Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Rubashkin falsified sales records to defraud the plant's St. Louis lender. The fake invoices and shipping papers created the illusion of sales that never happened and allowed Rubashkin to borrow more out of a $35 million credit line.
Rubashkin also allegedly diverted customer payments into the wrong bank account, when the money should have gone directly to the lender. Prosecution witnesses testified that he used the money for personal expenses and to keep the plant running.
Jurors weighed the case for 2 1/2 days after a nearly month-long trial that was moved to South Dakota because of intense publicity in Iowa.
They continued deliberations on Tuesday, were given Wednesday off in observance of Veterans Day, and reached the verdict at 4:35 p.m. Thursday.
Rubashkin still faces 72 immigration-related federal charges as well as state allegations that he violated child labor laws. The federal immigration trial is set to begin in December in Sioux Falls.
Schulte writes for The Des Moines Register
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-13-slaughterhouse-guilty-verdict_N.htm
USA TODAY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse was found guilty on all but five of the 91 felony fraud charges he faced for his role in a massive bank fraud scheme at his former meat plant, Agriprocessors Inc., in Postville.
Jurors declared Sholom Rubashkin, the former vice president at Agriprocessors Inc. guilty of bank fraud, making false statements to a bank, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.
Rubashkin also was convicted Thursday of 15 of 20 charges that he ignored an order to pay livestock providers in the 24-hour window required by law.
Rubashkin is the sixth high-level Agriprocessors manager convicted of federal charges, although he most likely will face the most severe prison sentence. The other five — two line managers, two financial officers, and the human resources director — all struck plea deals and testified against Rubashkin.
Rubashkin, 50, was taken into custody, despite protests from his lawyers. As federal marshals led him out of the courtroom, he turned and blew a kiss to his family and well-wishers.
Rubashkin showed little emotion as U.S. District Judge Linda Reade read each verdict, a process that took nearly an hour to complete. At several points, he turned and looked at his family. Once he looked down and shook his head.
His lawyer, Guy Cook, said Rubashkin will appeal after his sentencing at undetermined date in Cedar Rapids. The defense team also will push for his release on bail pending a second trial on 72 immigration charges that begins Dec. 2.
Rubashkin's wife, Leah, said she was not sure whether the family would remain in Postville, a town that has relied heavily on the kosher meat plant founded by the family patriarch in 1987.
"We know he's innocent, and we look forward to his appeal," she said on the courthouse steps. "Obviously, this is not a pleasant thing."
Rubashkin's children, who showed no emotion as Reade read the verdicts, said their Jewish faith would help their father.
"We're in God's hands, and it's going to be good," Getzel Rubashkin said.
Rubashkin's oldest daughter, Roza Weiss, said: "It's unbelievable. My only comment is, we're Jewish and we're proud of it."
Federal prosecutor Peter Deegan Jr. referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Cedar Rapids. A call to the office spokesman was not returned.
Deegan asked Reade to place Rubashkin in federal custody immediately because of concerns that he might flee. Rubashkin likely will face "a lengthy sentence," Deegan said.
The courtroom was half-full as the five-man, seven-woman jury returned. Aaron Rubashkin — Sholom's father, the family patriarch, and the plant's founder — walked in as Reade read the first charges, heard the word "guilty," and slid into a chair with a blank expression.
Federal prosecutors had offered Rubashkin a plea deal before the trial began. Rubashkin told supporters that he would not accept it because he was innocent, a family friend told The Des Moines Register on Thursday.
Rabbi Shea Hecht, chairman of the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education, said Rubashkin's supporters urged him to take the offer, which would have included prison time.
Rubashkin had "moral problems" with the proposal and insisted that he had done nothing illegal, Hecht said.
The plea-deal conversation took place during a meeting with Rubashkin and his lawyers in Crown Heights, a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood and Rubashkin family stronghold, Hecht said.
He said it happened shortly before Yom Kippur, a major Jewish holiday, which began this year at sunset on Sept. 27.
Cook, Rubashkin's attorney, declined to comment about the plea deal.
Hecht said Rubashkin's legal expenses — paid by a Brooklyn defense committee, of which he is a member — have exceeded $1 million.
Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Rubashkin falsified sales records to defraud the plant's St. Louis lender. The fake invoices and shipping papers created the illusion of sales that never happened and allowed Rubashkin to borrow more out of a $35 million credit line.
Rubashkin also allegedly diverted customer payments into the wrong bank account, when the money should have gone directly to the lender. Prosecution witnesses testified that he used the money for personal expenses and to keep the plant running.
Jurors weighed the case for 2 1/2 days after a nearly month-long trial that was moved to South Dakota because of intense publicity in Iowa.
They continued deliberations on Tuesday, were given Wednesday off in observance of Veterans Day, and reached the verdict at 4:35 p.m. Thursday.
Rubashkin still faces 72 immigration-related federal charges as well as state allegations that he violated child labor laws. The federal immigration trial is set to begin in December in Sioux Falls.
Schulte writes for The Des Moines Register
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-13-slaughterhouse-guilty-verdict_N.htm
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Massive state fine against Agriprocessors slashed
By Dave DeWitte
The Gazette
July 24, 2009
Iowa Workforce Development has agreed to slash its nearly $10 million penalty claim against Agriprocessors for illegal wage deductions and unpaid wages.
The fine announced on Oct. 29, 2008, was the largest that Iowa Workforce Development had ever levied. It covered findings that Agriprocessors unlawfully deducted $192,597 from workers paychecks for frocks they wore on the job, and failed to pay the final paychecks of 42 workers arrested in an immigration raid.
In a proposed settlement with Agriprocessors bankruptcy trustee, state Labor Commissioner Dave Neil agrees to reduce to a $9.98 million claim for illegal paycheck deductions and a $4,900 claim for the unpaid wages to $1 million.
The settlement agreement was submitted Friday to Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Kilburg for his approval.
Under the settlement, the $1 million would become a priority claim in Agriprocessors’ bankruptcy case, one of the claims that will be paid first if funds become available. There appears to be no guarantee, however, that even $1 million can be paid.
This week’s bankruptcy court approval for the sale of most Agriprocessors assets $8.5 million to SHF Industries is expected to leave nothing for unsecured creditors, and possibly some partial payments to secured creditors.
Although most of the valuable assets of the company have been sold, an attorney for trustee Joe Saracheck told the bankruptcy court recently that they still have hopes of recovering “preference” payments.
Preference payments are payments made in the three months immediately preceding a bankruptcy that could be deemed preferential to certain creditors. In the case of individuals or firms closely connected to the company, payments going back even further may be subject to forfeiture for the benefit of other creditors.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090724/BUSINESS/707249952/1007
The Gazette
July 24, 2009
Iowa Workforce Development has agreed to slash its nearly $10 million penalty claim against Agriprocessors for illegal wage deductions and unpaid wages.
The fine announced on Oct. 29, 2008, was the largest that Iowa Workforce Development had ever levied. It covered findings that Agriprocessors unlawfully deducted $192,597 from workers paychecks for frocks they wore on the job, and failed to pay the final paychecks of 42 workers arrested in an immigration raid.
In a proposed settlement with Agriprocessors bankruptcy trustee, state Labor Commissioner Dave Neil agrees to reduce to a $9.98 million claim for illegal paycheck deductions and a $4,900 claim for the unpaid wages to $1 million.
The settlement agreement was submitted Friday to Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Kilburg for his approval.
Under the settlement, the $1 million would become a priority claim in Agriprocessors’ bankruptcy case, one of the claims that will be paid first if funds become available. There appears to be no guarantee, however, that even $1 million can be paid.
This week’s bankruptcy court approval for the sale of most Agriprocessors assets $8.5 million to SHF Industries is expected to leave nothing for unsecured creditors, and possibly some partial payments to secured creditors.
Although most of the valuable assets of the company have been sold, an attorney for trustee Joe Saracheck told the bankruptcy court recently that they still have hopes of recovering “preference” payments.
Preference payments are payments made in the three months immediately preceding a bankruptcy that could be deemed preferential to certain creditors. In the case of individuals or firms closely connected to the company, payments going back even further may be subject to forfeiture for the benefit of other creditors.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090724/BUSINESS/707249952/1007
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Agriprocessors: The Play
By Rachel Feintzeig
The Wall Street Journal
July 16, 2009
First there was the raid on the slaughterhouse, then the bankruptcy filing, then the trials. And now, the play.
Agriprocessors, the kosher meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa, that’s entangled in a slew of legal disputes stemming from its alleged mistreatment of immigrant workers, has now inspired action of the artistic variety. Seven Mexican and Guatemalan men who were arrested in the May 2008 raid have embraced their thespian sides and written a play about the experience. They performed “La Historia de Nuestras Vida,” (The Story of Our Lives) at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis last Friday night, bringing all the drama of the ill-fated chicken and beef producer to life before an enthralled audience.
“They told a very compelling story,” Stephanie Bates, a program director for one of the organizations that sponsored the play, said in an interview Thursday. They “created a visible representation of how broken our immigration system is.”
Bates’ group, Resources Center for the Americas, is a human rights organization that has come to the defense of the workers, who they believe were “violated” during their time at the plant. She said the seven-part play, which begins with the men’s arrival in Postville and explores the raid and their time in detention centers, helped to give audience members a fresh perspective on immigration issues.
“I think that it’s really unique for these men to tell a story that’s deeply personal and relate to an audience who probably has no idea what it would be like to go through that situation,” she said.
A lack of personal experience with immigration raids might not have been the only thing infringing on viewers’ ability to understand the performance. It was also presented entirely in Spanish, according to the Associated Press, although the audience was presented with an English translation in their playbooks.
Still, by Bates’ account, the language barrier had little impact on the audience’s ability to connect with the performers and enjoy the play.
“The men got a standing ovation,” she said. “Everyone was on their feet.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2009/07/16/agriprocessors-the-play/?mod=rss_WSJBlog
The Wall Street Journal
July 16, 2009
First there was the raid on the slaughterhouse, then the bankruptcy filing, then the trials. And now, the play.
Agriprocessors, the kosher meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa, that’s entangled in a slew of legal disputes stemming from its alleged mistreatment of immigrant workers, has now inspired action of the artistic variety. Seven Mexican and Guatemalan men who were arrested in the May 2008 raid have embraced their thespian sides and written a play about the experience. They performed “La Historia de Nuestras Vida,” (The Story of Our Lives) at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis last Friday night, bringing all the drama of the ill-fated chicken and beef producer to life before an enthralled audience.
“They told a very compelling story,” Stephanie Bates, a program director for one of the organizations that sponsored the play, said in an interview Thursday. They “created a visible representation of how broken our immigration system is.”
Bates’ group, Resources Center for the Americas, is a human rights organization that has come to the defense of the workers, who they believe were “violated” during their time at the plant. She said the seven-part play, which begins with the men’s arrival in Postville and explores the raid and their time in detention centers, helped to give audience members a fresh perspective on immigration issues.
“I think that it’s really unique for these men to tell a story that’s deeply personal and relate to an audience who probably has no idea what it would be like to go through that situation,” she said.
A lack of personal experience with immigration raids might not have been the only thing infringing on viewers’ ability to understand the performance. It was also presented entirely in Spanish, according to the Associated Press, although the audience was presented with an English translation in their playbooks.
Still, by Bates’ account, the language barrier had little impact on the audience’s ability to connect with the performers and enjoy the play.
“The men got a standing ovation,” she said. “Everyone was on their feet.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2009/07/16/agriprocessors-the-play/?mod=rss_WSJBlog
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Postville Marks Immigration Raid Anniversary with Reflection, Optimism
By Tim Belay
VOA News
Postville, Iowa
18 May 2009
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of what at the time was the largest-ever single site immigration raid in the United States. Postville, Iowa is still recovering from the arrest and deportation of hundreds of Hispanic slaughterhouse workers and the closure of the town's largest employer. Although the community has faced many difficulties over the past 12 months, there's a great sense of optimism about its future.
A day of remembering
The Agriprocessor plant is still operating, but at a reduced capacity
The day began with the ringing of church bells 389 times. That's how many suspected illegal immigrants were arrested at the slaughterhouse on May 12, 2008. Most of them were from Guatemala and another large percentage was from Mexico. They were all deported or detained, but about 60 of their family members were allowed to remain in Postville.
The workers were employed by Agriprocessors, which was then producing about half of the nation's kosher beef and chicken. The company filed for bankruptcy last fall and the search continues for a buyer. Currently, the plant is operating only one shift per day instead of three.
Postville has lost an estimated one-third of its population. Long-time local attorney Matt Erickson says the impact is visible in many ways. The town's popular Mexican restaurant remains open, but it is much quieter. And he says there is no longer any trouble finding a parking space right in front of it or any other main street business.
"As time went by, you could see some of the businesses suffering. I think a lot of the businesses also were greatly affected - probably even more so - by Agriprocessors filing bankruptcy than they were by the raid."
A chance to start over
While the events of a year ago were a disaster for the town, they also presented an opportunity for change.
"With Agri[processors] for sale, we now have the opportunity to start over, and do it right this time," Postville Mayor Leigh Rekow told a packed anniversary rally news conference. "It may not sell. But if not for the raid, the opportunity to make good changes may not have happened. There is money lost and money owed. But we are a strong community, and we will work our way together through this."
Economic woes and a drop in population mean there's plenty of parking along the town's main business street. Former Postville City Council member Aaron Goldsmith is often a spokesman for the Jewish community here. He says the town is suffering through what he calls "the double trouble" of the problems with the meatpacker and the economy in general, but that it is rebuilding.
"This year, we were just economically [battered] by the raid and the economy," he observes. "But I see that once we have clarity about a new owner, I think it'll instill confidence and the town can grow forward."
A community pulls together to help those in need
Goldsmith and Mayor Rekow are both members of a coalition of government church and business leaders which has been working on the rebuilding of the town's economy. The group's current chairman, Presbyterian pastor Gary Catterson, says the community is proud of how it has handled its difficulties and helped the immigrant families. He echoes a familiar theme when he points out that social and economic impact of the raid and its aftermath continue to be felt in Postville and the surrounding area.
"The past year has been one of great upheaval for individuals, for families and for the entire community," he says, but notes, "The challenges of the past year have also brought out the best in people as community members have come together to care for those in need."
The Postville food pantry continues to serve about 150 people per week and local churches have paid rent and utility bills for jobless families, including wives and children of the deported workers.
The bankruptcy of the Agriprocessors plant and the economic slowdown have also hurt the local government. City Clerk Darcy Radloff says unpaid tax bills could lead to cuts in the city's police department and have already forced them to put plans for a new recreational trail back on the shelf.
"And we know that if things don't get turned around with Agri[processors] and if people don't start coming back into this community and moving into those vacant homes and paying those property taxes, we're going to be really struggling here in a year to maintain the city services that we provide to people."
Looking ahead
St. Bridget's was filled to capacity for the anniversary prayer vigil
Organizers of the anniversary prayer vigil at St. Bridget's Catholic Church say they had two goals in mind: to show solidarity for the immigrant workers and to call attention to what they see as a need for changes in U.S. immigration law.
Iowa's Democratic Senator Tom Harkin issued a statement commending Postville for helping the families of those who were arrested in the raid. Senator Harkin also said he salutes the administration of President Barack Obama for announcing recently that the Department of Homeland Security will re-focus its worksite enforcement on employers who hire illegal immigrants, rather than on the workers.
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2009-05-18-voa16.cfm
VOA News
Postville, Iowa
18 May 2009
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of what at the time was the largest-ever single site immigration raid in the United States. Postville, Iowa is still recovering from the arrest and deportation of hundreds of Hispanic slaughterhouse workers and the closure of the town's largest employer. Although the community has faced many difficulties over the past 12 months, there's a great sense of optimism about its future.
A day of remembering
The Agriprocessor plant is still operating, but at a reduced capacity
The day began with the ringing of church bells 389 times. That's how many suspected illegal immigrants were arrested at the slaughterhouse on May 12, 2008. Most of them were from Guatemala and another large percentage was from Mexico. They were all deported or detained, but about 60 of their family members were allowed to remain in Postville.
The workers were employed by Agriprocessors, which was then producing about half of the nation's kosher beef and chicken. The company filed for bankruptcy last fall and the search continues for a buyer. Currently, the plant is operating only one shift per day instead of three.
Postville has lost an estimated one-third of its population. Long-time local attorney Matt Erickson says the impact is visible in many ways. The town's popular Mexican restaurant remains open, but it is much quieter. And he says there is no longer any trouble finding a parking space right in front of it or any other main street business.
"As time went by, you could see some of the businesses suffering. I think a lot of the businesses also were greatly affected - probably even more so - by Agriprocessors filing bankruptcy than they were by the raid."
A chance to start over
While the events of a year ago were a disaster for the town, they also presented an opportunity for change.
"With Agri[processors] for sale, we now have the opportunity to start over, and do it right this time," Postville Mayor Leigh Rekow told a packed anniversary rally news conference. "It may not sell. But if not for the raid, the opportunity to make good changes may not have happened. There is money lost and money owed. But we are a strong community, and we will work our way together through this."
Economic woes and a drop in population mean there's plenty of parking along the town's main business street. Former Postville City Council member Aaron Goldsmith is often a spokesman for the Jewish community here. He says the town is suffering through what he calls "the double trouble" of the problems with the meatpacker and the economy in general, but that it is rebuilding.
"This year, we were just economically [battered] by the raid and the economy," he observes. "But I see that once we have clarity about a new owner, I think it'll instill confidence and the town can grow forward."
A community pulls together to help those in need
Goldsmith and Mayor Rekow are both members of a coalition of government church and business leaders which has been working on the rebuilding of the town's economy. The group's current chairman, Presbyterian pastor Gary Catterson, says the community is proud of how it has handled its difficulties and helped the immigrant families. He echoes a familiar theme when he points out that social and economic impact of the raid and its aftermath continue to be felt in Postville and the surrounding area.
"The past year has been one of great upheaval for individuals, for families and for the entire community," he says, but notes, "The challenges of the past year have also brought out the best in people as community members have come together to care for those in need."
The Postville food pantry continues to serve about 150 people per week and local churches have paid rent and utility bills for jobless families, including wives and children of the deported workers.
The bankruptcy of the Agriprocessors plant and the economic slowdown have also hurt the local government. City Clerk Darcy Radloff says unpaid tax bills could lead to cuts in the city's police department and have already forced them to put plans for a new recreational trail back on the shelf.
"And we know that if things don't get turned around with Agri[processors] and if people don't start coming back into this community and moving into those vacant homes and paying those property taxes, we're going to be really struggling here in a year to maintain the city services that we provide to people."
Looking ahead
St. Bridget's was filled to capacity for the anniversary prayer vigil
Organizers of the anniversary prayer vigil at St. Bridget's Catholic Church say they had two goals in mind: to show solidarity for the immigrant workers and to call attention to what they see as a need for changes in U.S. immigration law.
Iowa's Democratic Senator Tom Harkin issued a statement commending Postville for helping the families of those who were arrested in the raid. Senator Harkin also said he salutes the administration of President Barack Obama for announcing recently that the Department of Homeland Security will re-focus its worksite enforcement on employers who hire illegal immigrants, rather than on the workers.
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2009-05-18-voa16.cfm
Monday, May 18, 2009
Postville priest pushes for immigration reform
By JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD
THE WATERLOO COURIER
May 17, 2009
POSTVILLE - The Rev. Paul Oudekirk first noticed early signs of progress in his relentless advocacy for immigration reform one month ago.
He was speaking about the humanitarian and economic fallout of last year's immigration raid on Agriprocessors, Postville's kosher meatpacking plant, in Rochester, Minn. when a man confronted him over his work.
"One of our first questions that comes to us, 'You're working with criminals, that's illegal. You shouldn't be promoting the breaking of our laws,'" he said.
For a moment, Oudekirk, a former Hispanic minister at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Marshalltown, was stunned. Faith leaders at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville, where Oudekirk currently ministers, have criss-crossed the Midwest for much of the past year on a fervent mission: To use Postville as a bully pulpit for comprehensive immigration reform.
Until then, he had never encountered resistance to his message. Upon further thought, he realized the momentum for reform gained by President Barack Obama's pledge to pursue the issue in 2009 had made immigration reform again within reach.
The main players lobbying for change say Postville will play a central role in a heated debate that produced 500,000-person marches just three years ago and thousands of impassioned phone calls to members of Congress.
"I can assure you that Postville has become a symbol of why we need to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform. Postville is a perfect example that there are humanitarian consequences, economic consequences and security consequences when you fail to act," said Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo.
The polarizing debate seems to leave little room for middle ground. Opponents of immigration reform applaud the efforts in recent years to increase the visibility and number of immigration raids.
They too see Postville as the poster child for a failed system, but through a prism of lost jobs and suppressed wages caused by illegal immigration.
"Postville was a high profile case of an unscrupulous employer and illegal aliens working in the plant. How can that be an example of some sort of benefit of a mass amnesty? That was not exactly the finest hour for the illegal alien lobby," said Bob Dane, director of communications at FAIR, Federation for American Immigration Reform.
But the main players in the push for immigration reform think they have found room for agreement: Secure the nation's borders, and allow undocumented workers a path to citizenship after they pay a fine and face other consequences.
Most importantly, it appears Americans will support a plan that follows that outline: A Washington Post/ ABC News poll in March found 61 percent of respondents support giving illegal immigrants legal status if they pay a fine and meet other requirements. Two years ago, only 49 percent of respondents favored the idea.
Other independent polls have found similar levels of support, said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director at America's Voice, a Washington-based group lobbying for reform.
Besides Obama's repeated promises to address a broken immigration system, Tramonte sees another major reason for hope. Last month, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, two of the nation's most powerful union groups, hammered out a list of immigration reform measures they will support.
They include providing full access to labor, health and safety laws to all workers, immigrant and native-born, to reduce the exploitation of all workers. They reason a robust enforcement of workers' rights will ensure immigration does not depress wages and working conditions. Like other plans, unions support an independent commission to manage immigration levels to meet the needs of the U.S.
"Both parties need to learn the lesson of the November election. American voters want progress on tough problems; they want practical policies. Immigration has become symbol of how Washington doesn't work," Tramonte said.
But Dane, the FAIR spokesman, said the last major immigration overhaul produced a long trail of broken promises: More border patrol agents, increased employer sanctions and a work authorization system that never materialized.
That's why the only solution he will support is increased enforcement, which he said produces some self-deportation. He said some disputed evidence exists that increased enforcement works, but nothing definitive, because past economic downturns have also produced lowered immigration levels. Like those who favor reform, he believes he has the support of the American public.
"Even under Bush's term two years ago, we were doing pretty well - we at least had the illusion of prosperity - even then, there was such blow-back from the American public," he said.
Braley admitted quelling vocal opposition in tough economic times will be one of the main obstacles to passing immigration reform.
A successful effort, he said, will focus the debate on developing a system that shows respect for the law, considers existing employment needs and acknowledges the more than 12 million undocumented workers living in the country. If that is done, he said, immigration reform will not harm the American worker.
The promise of a better life for all workers is what keeps Oudekirk, the Postville priest, going. Last week he wore a shirt with the message, "justicia ahora" - justice now - scribbled in permanent marker.
At 77 years old, he does not want to wait any longer for reform, so he'll continue to pile up the miles on his Ford Focus, building support one Midwestern community at a time.
"We're constantly told by politicians the reason why they didn't get a new law when Bush was pushing it was because the number of calls was 10-to-1 in favor of more strict laws. So we're telling people, 'Hey, let's change that ratio,'" he said.
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/516723.html
THE WATERLOO COURIER
May 17, 2009
POSTVILLE - The Rev. Paul Oudekirk first noticed early signs of progress in his relentless advocacy for immigration reform one month ago.
He was speaking about the humanitarian and economic fallout of last year's immigration raid on Agriprocessors, Postville's kosher meatpacking plant, in Rochester, Minn. when a man confronted him over his work.
"One of our first questions that comes to us, 'You're working with criminals, that's illegal. You shouldn't be promoting the breaking of our laws,'" he said.
For a moment, Oudekirk, a former Hispanic minister at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Marshalltown, was stunned. Faith leaders at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville, where Oudekirk currently ministers, have criss-crossed the Midwest for much of the past year on a fervent mission: To use Postville as a bully pulpit for comprehensive immigration reform.
Until then, he had never encountered resistance to his message. Upon further thought, he realized the momentum for reform gained by President Barack Obama's pledge to pursue the issue in 2009 had made immigration reform again within reach.
The main players lobbying for change say Postville will play a central role in a heated debate that produced 500,000-person marches just three years ago and thousands of impassioned phone calls to members of Congress.
"I can assure you that Postville has become a symbol of why we need to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform. Postville is a perfect example that there are humanitarian consequences, economic consequences and security consequences when you fail to act," said Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo.
The polarizing debate seems to leave little room for middle ground. Opponents of immigration reform applaud the efforts in recent years to increase the visibility and number of immigration raids.
They too see Postville as the poster child for a failed system, but through a prism of lost jobs and suppressed wages caused by illegal immigration.
"Postville was a high profile case of an unscrupulous employer and illegal aliens working in the plant. How can that be an example of some sort of benefit of a mass amnesty? That was not exactly the finest hour for the illegal alien lobby," said Bob Dane, director of communications at FAIR, Federation for American Immigration Reform.
But the main players in the push for immigration reform think they have found room for agreement: Secure the nation's borders, and allow undocumented workers a path to citizenship after they pay a fine and face other consequences.
Most importantly, it appears Americans will support a plan that follows that outline: A Washington Post/ ABC News poll in March found 61 percent of respondents support giving illegal immigrants legal status if they pay a fine and meet other requirements. Two years ago, only 49 percent of respondents favored the idea.
Other independent polls have found similar levels of support, said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director at America's Voice, a Washington-based group lobbying for reform.
Besides Obama's repeated promises to address a broken immigration system, Tramonte sees another major reason for hope. Last month, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, two of the nation's most powerful union groups, hammered out a list of immigration reform measures they will support.
They include providing full access to labor, health and safety laws to all workers, immigrant and native-born, to reduce the exploitation of all workers. They reason a robust enforcement of workers' rights will ensure immigration does not depress wages and working conditions. Like other plans, unions support an independent commission to manage immigration levels to meet the needs of the U.S.
"Both parties need to learn the lesson of the November election. American voters want progress on tough problems; they want practical policies. Immigration has become symbol of how Washington doesn't work," Tramonte said.
But Dane, the FAIR spokesman, said the last major immigration overhaul produced a long trail of broken promises: More border patrol agents, increased employer sanctions and a work authorization system that never materialized.
That's why the only solution he will support is increased enforcement, which he said produces some self-deportation. He said some disputed evidence exists that increased enforcement works, but nothing definitive, because past economic downturns have also produced lowered immigration levels. Like those who favor reform, he believes he has the support of the American public.
"Even under Bush's term two years ago, we were doing pretty well - we at least had the illusion of prosperity - even then, there was such blow-back from the American public," he said.
Braley admitted quelling vocal opposition in tough economic times will be one of the main obstacles to passing immigration reform.
A successful effort, he said, will focus the debate on developing a system that shows respect for the law, considers existing employment needs and acknowledges the more than 12 million undocumented workers living in the country. If that is done, he said, immigration reform will not harm the American worker.
The promise of a better life for all workers is what keeps Oudekirk, the Postville priest, going. Last week he wore a shirt with the message, "justicia ahora" - justice now - scribbled in permanent marker.
At 77 years old, he does not want to wait any longer for reform, so he'll continue to pile up the miles on his Ford Focus, building support one Midwestern community at a time.
"We're constantly told by politicians the reason why they didn't get a new law when Bush was pushing it was because the number of calls was 10-to-1 in favor of more strict laws. So we're telling people, 'Hey, let's change that ratio,'" he said.
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/516723.html
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Postville: One year later
Published: Friday, May 15, 2009
The Phoenix of Phoenixville, PA
By Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas
It's been a year since the largest immigration raid in U.S. history. That was the day Pedrito's Mom was taken, and he has not seen her since. For Postville, May 12 is a day that will live in infamy.
A year later, the welcome signs still stand: "Iowa, Fields of Opportunity," "Postville, Hometown to the World," and "Agriprocessors, A Great Place to Work!" The town would like to forget and move on, but nothing will ever be the same. Four times the world has come to Postville to mark its rise and fall: the Railroad (1864), Barnum & Bailey (1915), Agriprocessors (1987), and the Feds (2008).
There was a time when folks of 24 nationalities, speaking 17 languages, found their dream of freedom in this two-square-mile community with no traffic lights, nestled amid a sea of cornfields. The town was hailed as a model of ethnic integration for communities across the country. "I wish you had seen my town as it was before," a teary local muttered. "It used to be a success story."
Now, the social fabric is torn and the folks must pick up the pieces. The raid claimed three quarters of the plant's employees, one third of the school children, and nearly half of the town's population. As rooted family workers were taken, newcomers and drifters moved in. Crime followed. Folks who never locked their doors were afraid to walk the streets. Agents prowled among the drifters. People looked over their shoulder and whispered. Fear was in the air.
When the helicopters came and 900 armed agents stormed the town, children were hidden in basements for as long as two weeks, and fed under the door. Pedrito's mom said "Take me. I'm alone in this country." School children of all colors were living in fear. Many had nightmares that their parents too were taken away.
Close to 100 immigrant and 55 U.S.-born citizen children were either forced into exile and poverty or separated from their deported parents. As her mom sat in prison and was deported, Pedrito's little sister went every day to her bedroom and talked to her, pretending she was still there. Pedrito has written a letter to President Obama and the First Lady, pleading "Give my Mom a three-day visa, so she can come to my middle school graduation, and see that I kept my promise." Will he receive a response?
A year later, there are still 28 women forbidden to work or to leave with GPS ankle monitors waiting for a deportation hearing. Another 12 adults and 30 children still wait in legal limbo. After serving their sentence, 41 men were forced to come back as material witness against the employer. They were given temporary work permits, but work is scarce. As a twist of irony, almost half of them are back at Agriprocessors.
The plant was never able to replace the workers taken by the raid. Mounting expenses and sanctions drove Agriprocessors into bankruptcy. A massive debt remains unpaid; money stopped flowing into town; businesses closed; storefronts sit empty; homes are in foreclosure; revenue plummeted; and the mayor resigned. The enforcement medicine worked, but it killed the patient. Nobody is the better for it.
The cost of the raid, prosecution, and deportation to taxpayers exceeds $15 million and counting. The regional loss of business from Agriprocessors' downfall surpasses $200 million per year, which means the further loss of hundreds of American jobs. Greenspan was right. Migrants, as it turns out, create higher-level jobs for Americans.
The significance of Postville is that it shows the devastation that our ill-conceived enforcement policy is having in communities across the country. While in larger cities the impact is diluted and easier to deny, here the ill has nowhere to hide. Postville is ground zero for comprehensive immigration reform.
A year later, the town forgives. Officials forget. The nation remembers.
http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/articles/2009/05/15/opinion/srv0000005344065.txt
The Phoenix of Phoenixville, PA
By Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas
It's been a year since the largest immigration raid in U.S. history. That was the day Pedrito's Mom was taken, and he has not seen her since. For Postville, May 12 is a day that will live in infamy.
A year later, the welcome signs still stand: "Iowa, Fields of Opportunity," "Postville, Hometown to the World," and "Agriprocessors, A Great Place to Work!" The town would like to forget and move on, but nothing will ever be the same. Four times the world has come to Postville to mark its rise and fall: the Railroad (1864), Barnum & Bailey (1915), Agriprocessors (1987), and the Feds (2008).
There was a time when folks of 24 nationalities, speaking 17 languages, found their dream of freedom in this two-square-mile community with no traffic lights, nestled amid a sea of cornfields. The town was hailed as a model of ethnic integration for communities across the country. "I wish you had seen my town as it was before," a teary local muttered. "It used to be a success story."
Now, the social fabric is torn and the folks must pick up the pieces. The raid claimed three quarters of the plant's employees, one third of the school children, and nearly half of the town's population. As rooted family workers were taken, newcomers and drifters moved in. Crime followed. Folks who never locked their doors were afraid to walk the streets. Agents prowled among the drifters. People looked over their shoulder and whispered. Fear was in the air.
When the helicopters came and 900 armed agents stormed the town, children were hidden in basements for as long as two weeks, and fed under the door. Pedrito's mom said "Take me. I'm alone in this country." School children of all colors were living in fear. Many had nightmares that their parents too were taken away.
Close to 100 immigrant and 55 U.S.-born citizen children were either forced into exile and poverty or separated from their deported parents. As her mom sat in prison and was deported, Pedrito's little sister went every day to her bedroom and talked to her, pretending she was still there. Pedrito has written a letter to President Obama and the First Lady, pleading "Give my Mom a three-day visa, so she can come to my middle school graduation, and see that I kept my promise." Will he receive a response?
A year later, there are still 28 women forbidden to work or to leave with GPS ankle monitors waiting for a deportation hearing. Another 12 adults and 30 children still wait in legal limbo. After serving their sentence, 41 men were forced to come back as material witness against the employer. They were given temporary work permits, but work is scarce. As a twist of irony, almost half of them are back at Agriprocessors.
The plant was never able to replace the workers taken by the raid. Mounting expenses and sanctions drove Agriprocessors into bankruptcy. A massive debt remains unpaid; money stopped flowing into town; businesses closed; storefronts sit empty; homes are in foreclosure; revenue plummeted; and the mayor resigned. The enforcement medicine worked, but it killed the patient. Nobody is the better for it.
The cost of the raid, prosecution, and deportation to taxpayers exceeds $15 million and counting. The regional loss of business from Agriprocessors' downfall surpasses $200 million per year, which means the further loss of hundreds of American jobs. Greenspan was right. Migrants, as it turns out, create higher-level jobs for Americans.
The significance of Postville is that it shows the devastation that our ill-conceived enforcement policy is having in communities across the country. While in larger cities the impact is diluted and easier to deny, here the ill has nowhere to hide. Postville is ground zero for comprehensive immigration reform.
A year later, the town forgives. Officials forget. The nation remembers.
http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/articles/2009/05/15/opinion/srv0000005344065.txt
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Meat plant CEO's request OK'd
Meat plant CEO's request OK'd
Judge issues ruling over witnesses Friday.
By AMY LORENTZEN
The Associated Press
March 21, 2009
DES MOINES -- A federal judge has ruled on a request by a former manager of an embattled kosher slaughterhouse on whether to compel witnesses to testify before trial over worries they could leave the country.
The ruling in the case of former Agriprocessors Inc. manager Sholom Rubashkin was issued Friday by Judge John S. Scoles.
In it, the judge notes that three of four witnesses Rubashkin wanted to testify before trial have been redesignated material witnesses after a request by a co-defendant. That means they will be available to testify at trial, which is scheduled for September.
Scoles granted Rubashkin's motion to perpetuate testimony for a fourth witness, Victor Hugo Sis-Tapaz, who wasn't redesignated a material witness and is subject to removal from the country.
"The ruling ensures the opportunity to preserve testimony supporting Mr. Rubashkin's defense," his attorney, Guy Cook, said in a statement Saturday to the Associated Press.
Nearly 100 counts were filed against Agriprocessors and its former managers following a federal immigration raid last May in Postville. Agents arrested 389 people, most from Mexico and Guatemala.
Indictments name Agriprocessors, Rubashkin and three co-defendants -- Brent Beebe, Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi -- who worked at the plant. Authorities have asked for help finding Amara and Levi.
The charges include conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants for profit, aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented immigrants and conspiracy to commit document fraud.
About 30 people arrested in the raid later were named as potential material witnesses in Agriprocessors-related cases. Most of them will be deported, but first they must wait while the cases against the former managers and company wend their way through the federal courts.
Last month, a federal judge ruled that the witnesses, nearly all of whom were convicted of felonies following the raid, could be released from electronic surveillance despite a request from the U.S. attorney's office for continued monitoring.
In the motion to perpetuate testimony, Rubashkin's attorney argued the four witnesses should testify early because they could be deported or leave the country, and out of respect for their human rights so they weren't kept in a "legal limbo in the U.S." Agriprocessors joined in the motion.
In documents resisting the move, prosecutors argued that no date for removal from the country had been set for the four witnesses, and the government would have "ample advance notice" if a date were scheduled.
They noted, as Scoles did in his ruling, that a request by Rubashkin's co-defendant, Brent Beebe, had been made asking that three of the four witnesses be redesignated material witnesses.
Prosecutors also argued that during a hearing last month, Rubashkin agreed to the discontinuation of GPS monitoring, saying "he had no reason to believe the witnesses were going to flee."
"In a complete reversal of position, and in the hopes of obtaining authorization for pretrial depositions, defendant now claims a 'material witness order' is inadequate, and these witnesses will be 'unavailable' at trial," prosecutors said in documents where they asked that Rubashkin's efforts to get pretrial testimony be rejected.
No one could be reached by telephone on Saturday afternoon at the U.S. attorney's office in Cedar Rapids.
http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/IA-KosherSlaughterho-032209
Judge issues ruling over witnesses Friday.
By AMY LORENTZEN
The Associated Press
March 21, 2009
DES MOINES -- A federal judge has ruled on a request by a former manager of an embattled kosher slaughterhouse on whether to compel witnesses to testify before trial over worries they could leave the country.
The ruling in the case of former Agriprocessors Inc. manager Sholom Rubashkin was issued Friday by Judge John S. Scoles.
In it, the judge notes that three of four witnesses Rubashkin wanted to testify before trial have been redesignated material witnesses after a request by a co-defendant. That means they will be available to testify at trial, which is scheduled for September.
Scoles granted Rubashkin's motion to perpetuate testimony for a fourth witness, Victor Hugo Sis-Tapaz, who wasn't redesignated a material witness and is subject to removal from the country.
"The ruling ensures the opportunity to preserve testimony supporting Mr. Rubashkin's defense," his attorney, Guy Cook, said in a statement Saturday to the Associated Press.
Nearly 100 counts were filed against Agriprocessors and its former managers following a federal immigration raid last May in Postville. Agents arrested 389 people, most from Mexico and Guatemala.
Indictments name Agriprocessors, Rubashkin and three co-defendants -- Brent Beebe, Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi -- who worked at the plant. Authorities have asked for help finding Amara and Levi.
The charges include conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants for profit, aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented immigrants and conspiracy to commit document fraud.
About 30 people arrested in the raid later were named as potential material witnesses in Agriprocessors-related cases. Most of them will be deported, but first they must wait while the cases against the former managers and company wend their way through the federal courts.
Last month, a federal judge ruled that the witnesses, nearly all of whom were convicted of felonies following the raid, could be released from electronic surveillance despite a request from the U.S. attorney's office for continued monitoring.
In the motion to perpetuate testimony, Rubashkin's attorney argued the four witnesses should testify early because they could be deported or leave the country, and out of respect for their human rights so they weren't kept in a "legal limbo in the U.S." Agriprocessors joined in the motion.
In documents resisting the move, prosecutors argued that no date for removal from the country had been set for the four witnesses, and the government would have "ample advance notice" if a date were scheduled.
They noted, as Scoles did in his ruling, that a request by Rubashkin's co-defendant, Brent Beebe, had been made asking that three of the four witnesses be redesignated material witnesses.
Prosecutors also argued that during a hearing last month, Rubashkin agreed to the discontinuation of GPS monitoring, saying "he had no reason to believe the witnesses were going to flee."
"In a complete reversal of position, and in the hopes of obtaining authorization for pretrial depositions, defendant now claims a 'material witness order' is inadequate, and these witnesses will be 'unavailable' at trial," prosecutors said in documents where they asked that Rubashkin's efforts to get pretrial testimony be rejected.
No one could be reached by telephone on Saturday afternoon at the U.S. attorney's office in Cedar Rapids.
http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/IA-KosherSlaughterho-032209
Saturday, January 17, 2009
99 and counting: more charges filed against Rubashkin
99 and counting: more charges filed against Rubashkin
The good news for the former Agriprocessors CEO: he gets a bail hearing
By Lynda Waddington
1/17/09
The Iowa Independent
Sholom Rubashkin, former chief executive of the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, has been granted a new bail hearing, but the legal victory is bittersweet when placed in the shadow of a fourth superceeding indictment containing 99 criminal charges.
On Friday U.S. District Court Judge Linda R. Reade ordered a new detention hearing on Jan. 22 in Cedar Rapids. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles had previously ordered Rubashkin to be kept in custody pending a September trial date. The decision, which was based in part on Israel’s Law of Return, has drawn an abundance of scrutiny.
“We are pleased with new hearing,” said Guy Cook, Rubashkin’s attorney and former deputy U.S. Attorney in Iowa’s Southern District. “It was very important to Mr. Rubashkin that he be given a new hearing that would allow us to present evidence rather than just review the cold record. He does look forward to presenting evidence and attempting to demonstrate to the court that the facts that Judge Scoles heard — which I’m sure he was motivated to do his best — but those facts were taken out of context.
“[Mr. Rubashkin] has no intention of flight. He was not going to flee then. He’s not going to flee now.”
A fourth indictment in the case, filed with the federal courts late Thursday, list charges ranging from immigration conspiracy to money laundering to willful violation of an order of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. In addition to Rubashkin, 49, the indictments also name the Agriprocessors company and former plant managers Brent Beebe, Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi. Both Amara and Levi are believed to have fled to Israel prior to charges being filed against them, and are being sought by federal authorities.
“I don’t want to violate any of the rules regarding comment, but you can make your own decision as to why it is a 99-count indictment,” Cook said. “Was there not 100 charges? Was there just one more than 98? … How many times to they have to go forward with charges in this case? People can make charges all day long, but they are still just charges. They shouldn’t take on a life of their own.”
Federal rules regarding a defense attorney’s comments allow for a firm denial of all charges. Cook was adamant that his client does deny all charges and that he will be found innocent.
http://iowaindependent.com/10658/99-and-counting-more-charges-filed-against-rubashkin
The good news for the former Agriprocessors CEO: he gets a bail hearing
By Lynda Waddington
1/17/09
The Iowa Independent
Sholom Rubashkin, former chief executive of the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, has been granted a new bail hearing, but the legal victory is bittersweet when placed in the shadow of a fourth superceeding indictment containing 99 criminal charges.
On Friday U.S. District Court Judge Linda R. Reade ordered a new detention hearing on Jan. 22 in Cedar Rapids. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles had previously ordered Rubashkin to be kept in custody pending a September trial date. The decision, which was based in part on Israel’s Law of Return, has drawn an abundance of scrutiny.
“We are pleased with new hearing,” said Guy Cook, Rubashkin’s attorney and former deputy U.S. Attorney in Iowa’s Southern District. “It was very important to Mr. Rubashkin that he be given a new hearing that would allow us to present evidence rather than just review the cold record. He does look forward to presenting evidence and attempting to demonstrate to the court that the facts that Judge Scoles heard — which I’m sure he was motivated to do his best — but those facts were taken out of context.
“[Mr. Rubashkin] has no intention of flight. He was not going to flee then. He’s not going to flee now.”
A fourth indictment in the case, filed with the federal courts late Thursday, list charges ranging from immigration conspiracy to money laundering to willful violation of an order of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. In addition to Rubashkin, 49, the indictments also name the Agriprocessors company and former plant managers Brent Beebe, Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi. Both Amara and Levi are believed to have fled to Israel prior to charges being filed against them, and are being sought by federal authorities.
“I don’t want to violate any of the rules regarding comment, but you can make your own decision as to why it is a 99-count indictment,” Cook said. “Was there not 100 charges? Was there just one more than 98? … How many times to they have to go forward with charges in this case? People can make charges all day long, but they are still just charges. They shouldn’t take on a life of their own.”
Federal rules regarding a defense attorney’s comments allow for a firm denial of all charges. Cook was adamant that his client does deny all charges and that he will be found innocent.
http://iowaindependent.com/10658/99-and-counting-more-charges-filed-against-rubashkin
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Agriprocessors Raid Shatters Dreams in Guatemalan Village
Agriprocessors Raid Shatters Dreams in Guatemalan Village
By Summer Harlow
Tue. Dec 23, 2008
San José Calderas, Guatemala — While working 15-hour days, six days a week at a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa where machines could chop off a finger at any moment, Marco Tulio relied on one thing to keep going: thoughts of his Guatemalan hometown of San José Calderas.
He pictured his wife and children moving into a new four-room home made of adobe, on a street where real houses of brick or cement were slowly but surely replacing the one-room shacks of sheet metal and bamboo. He pictured his son in school, with money to buy his uniform and all the books and supplies he needed. He took comfort knowing that if his aging parents got sick, they would have money to see a doctor.
He thought of all the new tienditas, or little stores, that had sprung up in town, selling cookies and sugar and dishes and toys, items that his fellow townspeople had never been able to afford.
But Tulio, 42, never imagined that when he returned home he would find, rather than the growing and prospering village he had left behind, half-built homes where construction had been halted, overstocked stores empty of shoppers and children — including his 17-year-old son — roaming the streets because they had to quit school.
For more than a decade, Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa, acted as this dusty village’s guardian, patron and largest employer, but in the months since a May immigration raid and the arrest of Tulio and nearly 300 other undocumented Guatemalan workers, the kosher meat company now is proving to be the undoing of San José Calderas.
“This is what deportation has done,” said Tulio, who was deported October 12 with more than 100 other Agriprocessors workers, all handcuffed at the wrists and ankles for the plane ride to Guatemala City. “It’s a disaster for the village. It’s gone down since the raid. All the houses people were building have stopped, so there are these unfinished houses everywhere. How can you live like that?”
An estimated two-thirds of the 300 undocumented Agriprocessors workers deported to Guatemala in the past two months are from the municipality of San Andrés Itzapa, which includes Tulio’s village of San José Calderas. Officials say this town has become emblematic of the economic and social crises that the record-high deportations to Guatemala are provoking in this Central American nation of roughly 13 million people.
http://www.forward.com/articles/14768/
By Summer Harlow
Tue. Dec 23, 2008
San José Calderas, Guatemala — While working 15-hour days, six days a week at a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa where machines could chop off a finger at any moment, Marco Tulio relied on one thing to keep going: thoughts of his Guatemalan hometown of San José Calderas.
He pictured his wife and children moving into a new four-room home made of adobe, on a street where real houses of brick or cement were slowly but surely replacing the one-room shacks of sheet metal and bamboo. He pictured his son in school, with money to buy his uniform and all the books and supplies he needed. He took comfort knowing that if his aging parents got sick, they would have money to see a doctor.
He thought of all the new tienditas, or little stores, that had sprung up in town, selling cookies and sugar and dishes and toys, items that his fellow townspeople had never been able to afford.
But Tulio, 42, never imagined that when he returned home he would find, rather than the growing and prospering village he had left behind, half-built homes where construction had been halted, overstocked stores empty of shoppers and children — including his 17-year-old son — roaming the streets because they had to quit school.
For more than a decade, Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa, acted as this dusty village’s guardian, patron and largest employer, but in the months since a May immigration raid and the arrest of Tulio and nearly 300 other undocumented Guatemalan workers, the kosher meat company now is proving to be the undoing of San José Calderas.
“This is what deportation has done,” said Tulio, who was deported October 12 with more than 100 other Agriprocessors workers, all handcuffed at the wrists and ankles for the plane ride to Guatemala City. “It’s a disaster for the village. It’s gone down since the raid. All the houses people were building have stopped, so there are these unfinished houses everywhere. How can you live like that?”
An estimated two-thirds of the 300 undocumented Agriprocessors workers deported to Guatemala in the past two months are from the municipality of San Andrés Itzapa, which includes Tulio’s village of San José Calderas. Officials say this town has become emblematic of the economic and social crises that the record-high deportations to Guatemala are provoking in this Central American nation of roughly 13 million people.
http://www.forward.com/articles/14768/
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Family: Separation wears on father as his daughter toils in Iowa
Family: Separation wears on father as his daughter toils in Iowa
November 29, 2008
TONY LEYS, tleys@dmreg.com
Des Moines Register
El Rosario, Guatemala — Family means everything in towns like this.
You can hear it in the way residents rattle off multiple last names, describing everyone they're related to. Some names are Spanish. Some are Mayan. Many people have both.
In a poor, dangerous place, it can be a great comfort to live among your kin. Three generations routinely squeeze in under the same corrugated-steel roofs. In-laws, siblings and cousins often live up the street or in the next town. But such ties are being stretched and broken by the wave of emigration away from rural Guatemala.
Carlos Monzon feels the loss every day.
Monzon, 54, is a hard-pressed farmer with two daughters and a son, all in their 20s. The oldest is a nun in Guatemala City. The other two are living illegally in the United States. One of them, his 21-year-old daughter, Emilsa, was an Agriprocessors employee who managed to escape the dragnet during last May's immigration raid in Postville, Ia.
Emilsa was among scores of Guatemalans who took refuge in St. Bridget's Catholic Church in the days after the Postville raid. She talked by phone to her father, who was back in their mountaintop town.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081129/NEWS/81129009/1001/NEWS
November 29, 2008
TONY LEYS, tleys@dmreg.com
Des Moines Register
El Rosario, Guatemala — Family means everything in towns like this.
You can hear it in the way residents rattle off multiple last names, describing everyone they're related to. Some names are Spanish. Some are Mayan. Many people have both.
In a poor, dangerous place, it can be a great comfort to live among your kin. Three generations routinely squeeze in under the same corrugated-steel roofs. In-laws, siblings and cousins often live up the street or in the next town. But such ties are being stretched and broken by the wave of emigration away from rural Guatemala.
Carlos Monzon feels the loss every day.
Monzon, 54, is a hard-pressed farmer with two daughters and a son, all in their 20s. The oldest is a nun in Guatemala City. The other two are living illegally in the United States. One of them, his 21-year-old daughter, Emilsa, was an Agriprocessors employee who managed to escape the dragnet during last May's immigration raid in Postville, Ia.
Emilsa was among scores of Guatemalans who took refuge in St. Bridget's Catholic Church in the days after the Postville raid. She talked by phone to her father, who was back in their mountaintop town.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081129/NEWS/81129009/1001/NEWS
Friday, November 28, 2008
Postville raid, economy spike rise in usage at free clinic, food pantry
Postville raid, economy spike rise in usage at free clinic, food pantry
By Lissa Greiner
November 28, 2008
The Decorah Newspapers
The nation's struggling economy and the May immigration raid on the Agriprocessors plant in Postville have led to more area residents seeking free health care services and food in Decorah.
That's according to Decorah Community Free Clinic Manager Andrea Homstad, R.N., who said the Clinic, now in its seventh year of operation, is serving more people than ever.
"That's pretty much been the case since the raid. Throughout the summer we've seen more displaced Agriprocessors workers who had been going to clinics and paying their bills for health care," said Homstad.
"Now many of them are out of work and can't pay for health care the way they used to."
In addition to the jobless immigrant population, Homstad said the struggling economy has caused other area residents to lose their jobs or health insurance, causing them to seek free services as well.
"Need across the board has been steadily increasing," she said.
How it works
The Free Clinic, located at First Lutheran Church in Decorah, is open Thursday evenings, with walk-in registration time between 5 and 6 p.m.
"We have a triage process and we take the most needy patients first. If people aren't there by 6 p.m., they may not get seen," she said.
Homstad said the Clinic, which is run by two paid employees and about a dozen volunteers, usually helps between 12 and 20 people on a given Thursday evening.
"Since the raid, our volunteers have also gone to Postville a couple of times a month to have clinics there, and we intend to keep doing that on an as-needed basis," she said.
http://www.decorahnewspapers.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=13&ArticleID=18763
By Lissa Greiner
November 28, 2008
The Decorah Newspapers
The nation's struggling economy and the May immigration raid on the Agriprocessors plant in Postville have led to more area residents seeking free health care services and food in Decorah.
That's according to Decorah Community Free Clinic Manager Andrea Homstad, R.N., who said the Clinic, now in its seventh year of operation, is serving more people than ever.
"That's pretty much been the case since the raid. Throughout the summer we've seen more displaced Agriprocessors workers who had been going to clinics and paying their bills for health care," said Homstad.
"Now many of them are out of work and can't pay for health care the way they used to."
In addition to the jobless immigrant population, Homstad said the struggling economy has caused other area residents to lose their jobs or health insurance, causing them to seek free services as well.
"Need across the board has been steadily increasing," she said.
How it works
The Free Clinic, located at First Lutheran Church in Decorah, is open Thursday evenings, with walk-in registration time between 5 and 6 p.m.
"We have a triage process and we take the most needy patients first. If people aren't there by 6 p.m., they may not get seen," she said.
Homstad said the Clinic, which is run by two paid employees and about a dozen volunteers, usually helps between 12 and 20 people on a given Thursday evening.
"Since the raid, our volunteers have also gone to Postville a couple of times a month to have clinics there, and we intend to keep doing that on an as-needed basis," she said.
http://www.decorahnewspapers.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=13&ArticleID=18763
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Ex-managers at plant may have fled, officials say
Ex-managers at plant may have fled, officials say
By TONY LEYS, tleys@dmreg.com
DesMoines Register
November 22, 2008
Federal agents bearing a fresh indictment arrested one Agriprocessors Inc. supervisor Friday, but officials said they suspect that two others have fled to Israel.
Former poultry-line managers Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi were named in the new indictment, but their whereabouts were unknown, officials said. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Cedar Rapids said investigators suspect both men are now in Israel.
Dean Beebe, 51, who was identified as the Postville meatpacking plant's operations manager, was arrested Friday at the plant, prosecutors said.
He faces 10 charges handed up by a grand jury in Cedar Rapids. Beebe was accused of harboring illegal immigrants and helping them gain false documents.
Amara, 44, and Levi, whose age was unavailable, each face four similar charges.
During a related court hearing Wednesday, prosecutor Peter Deegan told a judge that he strongly suspected Amara was in Israel. Deegan said Amara contacted associates in the United States as recently as this week.
Prosecution spokesman Robert Teig said Friday that his office would not discuss what the government is doing to find the two men.
Friday's charges were just the latest in a stream of terrible news for Agriprocessors, which is in bankruptcy and has suspended production.
The company used to be Postville's dominant employer and the nation's largest producer of kosher meat. But its slide began with a May immigration raid in which nearly 400 illegal immigrants were arrested. The raid was one of the largest single-site raids by U.S. officials.
The new indictment adds immigration-related felonies and a second bank-fraud charge to the previous counts filed against former company executive Sholom Rubashkin, 49. He now faces up to 107 years in prison if convicted on all the federal charges. Rubashkin has been in jail since his arrest last week.
The indictment also adds immigration-related counts to previous charges against former human-resources official Karina Pilar Freund. Freund, 29, remained free on bond Friday.
The indictment also names the Agriprocessors company, which could face millions of dollars in fines.
Besides the federal charges, the company also faces millions of dollars in proposed state fines related to allegations that it hired underage workers and made bogus deductions from workers' wages.
The underage-worker allegations also led the state to file thousands of misdemeanor charges in September against Rubashkin, Freund, two other human-resources employees and Aaron Rubashkin, who is Sholom Rubashkin's father and the company's owner.
Baruch Weiss, Sholom Rubashkin's lawyer, said Rubashkin would plead not guilty to the new charges, as he has to previous charges. Weiss said his client had not decided whether to appeal a federal judge's ruling Thursday that he should be denied release on bail. His trial is set for late January, but Weiss predicted it would be pushed back.
A spokesman for Agriprocessors did not respond on Friday to a request for comment.
A former human-resources employee and two former foremen have pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to testify in future trials.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081122/NEWS/811220344/-1/ENT05
By TONY LEYS, tleys@dmreg.com
DesMoines Register
November 22, 2008
Federal agents bearing a fresh indictment arrested one Agriprocessors Inc. supervisor Friday, but officials said they suspect that two others have fled to Israel.
Former poultry-line managers Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi were named in the new indictment, but their whereabouts were unknown, officials said. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Cedar Rapids said investigators suspect both men are now in Israel.
Dean Beebe, 51, who was identified as the Postville meatpacking plant's operations manager, was arrested Friday at the plant, prosecutors said.
He faces 10 charges handed up by a grand jury in Cedar Rapids. Beebe was accused of harboring illegal immigrants and helping them gain false documents.
Amara, 44, and Levi, whose age was unavailable, each face four similar charges.
During a related court hearing Wednesday, prosecutor Peter Deegan told a judge that he strongly suspected Amara was in Israel. Deegan said Amara contacted associates in the United States as recently as this week.
Prosecution spokesman Robert Teig said Friday that his office would not discuss what the government is doing to find the two men.
Friday's charges were just the latest in a stream of terrible news for Agriprocessors, which is in bankruptcy and has suspended production.
The company used to be Postville's dominant employer and the nation's largest producer of kosher meat. But its slide began with a May immigration raid in which nearly 400 illegal immigrants were arrested. The raid was one of the largest single-site raids by U.S. officials.
The new indictment adds immigration-related felonies and a second bank-fraud charge to the previous counts filed against former company executive Sholom Rubashkin, 49. He now faces up to 107 years in prison if convicted on all the federal charges. Rubashkin has been in jail since his arrest last week.
The indictment also adds immigration-related counts to previous charges against former human-resources official Karina Pilar Freund. Freund, 29, remained free on bond Friday.
The indictment also names the Agriprocessors company, which could face millions of dollars in fines.
Besides the federal charges, the company also faces millions of dollars in proposed state fines related to allegations that it hired underage workers and made bogus deductions from workers' wages.
The underage-worker allegations also led the state to file thousands of misdemeanor charges in September against Rubashkin, Freund, two other human-resources employees and Aaron Rubashkin, who is Sholom Rubashkin's father and the company's owner.
Baruch Weiss, Sholom Rubashkin's lawyer, said Rubashkin would plead not guilty to the new charges, as he has to previous charges. Weiss said his client had not decided whether to appeal a federal judge's ruling Thursday that he should be denied release on bail. His trial is set for late January, but Weiss predicted it would be pushed back.
A spokesman for Agriprocessors did not respond on Friday to a request for comment.
A former human-resources employee and two former foremen have pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to testify in future trials.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081122/NEWS/811220344/-1/ENT05
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Immigration raid takes bite out of nation's kosher-meat supply
Immigration raid takes bite out of nation's kosher-meat supply
By Grant Schulte and Tony Leys
USA TODAY
November 16, 2008
POSTVILLE, Iowa — Financial problems at the company that was the target of one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history have triggered a shortage of kosher meat and raised prices nationwide.
Six months have passed since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Agriprocessors kosher-meat plant here on May 12 and detained 389 illegal immigrant workers. The company's beef operation has ceased operating and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past week.
The aftermath, observers say, has disrupted the kosher-meat supply and threatened the town's future.
"This town would be in a world of hurt if that plant closed," said Jeff Mott, owner of a local hardware store.
Agriprocessors, which revealed in its bankruptcy filing that it owes between $50 million and $100 million to creditors, provided about 60% of the nation's kosher meat, according to Joe Regenstein, a food-science professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Prices, as a result, have risen, he said.
The filing shows the largest debt to a single creditor is the $845,000 owed to Jacobson Staffing Co. of Des Moines, which initially helped provided replacement staffing, but withdrew its workers for lack of payment.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-11-12-raidsixmonthslater_N.htm
By Grant Schulte and Tony Leys
USA TODAY
November 16, 2008
POSTVILLE, Iowa — Financial problems at the company that was the target of one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history have triggered a shortage of kosher meat and raised prices nationwide.
Six months have passed since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Agriprocessors kosher-meat plant here on May 12 and detained 389 illegal immigrant workers. The company's beef operation has ceased operating and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past week.
The aftermath, observers say, has disrupted the kosher-meat supply and threatened the town's future.
"This town would be in a world of hurt if that plant closed," said Jeff Mott, owner of a local hardware store.
Agriprocessors, which revealed in its bankruptcy filing that it owes between $50 million and $100 million to creditors, provided about 60% of the nation's kosher meat, according to Joe Regenstein, a food-science professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Prices, as a result, have risen, he said.
The filing shows the largest debt to a single creditor is the $845,000 owed to Jacobson Staffing Co. of Des Moines, which initially helped provided replacement staffing, but withdrew its workers for lack of payment.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-11-12-raidsixmonthslater_N.htm
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Illegal workers brought back to Postville
Illegal workers brought back to Postville
October 17, 2008
Des Moines Register
By GRANT SCHULTE and TONY LEYS
Eighteen illegal immigrants arrested during a meatpacking plant raid in Postville have returned to town and might receive work permits for as long as federal prosecutors need them, a U.S. immigration spokesman said Thursday.
But the workers still face deportation, and were shipped to town fresh out of prison with few belongings and scant job opportunities, said a local church pastor who cared for the workers.
The immigrants were tagged as witnesses this week in the case against two human resources managers at Agriprocessors Inc., a kosher meat plant that employed hundreds of illegal immigrants and was the site of one of the largest raids in U.S. history in May. All of the witnesses have completed five-month prison sentences at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Tim Counts.
Less than a week after they completed their prison terms, federal agents obtained warrants to hold the immigrants as material witnesses in their case. A federal judge, however, ordered that the workers be released with supervision.Court papers identify 16 workers as witnesses in the case against Laura Althouse, the plant's payroll supervisor, and two in the case of Karina Freund, a Spanish translator who helped process work papers. The release orders - written in English and Spanish - require the workers to wear GPS ankle-monitoring bracelets and stay within an area determined by a probation officer.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081017/NEWS/810170368/-1/news04
October 17, 2008
Des Moines Register
By GRANT SCHULTE and TONY LEYS
Eighteen illegal immigrants arrested during a meatpacking plant raid in Postville have returned to town and might receive work permits for as long as federal prosecutors need them, a U.S. immigration spokesman said Thursday.
But the workers still face deportation, and were shipped to town fresh out of prison with few belongings and scant job opportunities, said a local church pastor who cared for the workers.
The immigrants were tagged as witnesses this week in the case against two human resources managers at Agriprocessors Inc., a kosher meat plant that employed hundreds of illegal immigrants and was the site of one of the largest raids in U.S. history in May. All of the witnesses have completed five-month prison sentences at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Tim Counts.
Less than a week after they completed their prison terms, federal agents obtained warrants to hold the immigrants as material witnesses in their case. A federal judge, however, ordered that the workers be released with supervision.Court papers identify 16 workers as witnesses in the case against Laura Althouse, the plant's payroll supervisor, and two in the case of Karina Freund, a Spanish translator who helped process work papers. The release orders - written in English and Spanish - require the workers to wear GPS ankle-monitoring bracelets and stay within an area determined by a probation officer.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081017/NEWS/810170368/-1/news04
Friday, August 15, 2008
A Misguided Crackdown
A Misguided Crackdown
Treating the symptoms, but not the cause, of illegal immigration
Friday, August 15, 2008; A20
Washington Post Editorial
CONGRESS'S FAILURE to enact a workable immigration system last year prompted the Bush administration to redouble its previously lethargic efforts at enforcing existing immigration laws. The get-tough campaign -- more workplace raids and arrests along the Mexican border, plus a smattering of criminal cases against employers -- has two goals. One is to show a doubting public that the feds mean business. The other is to make things so miserable for businesses that corporate lobbyists join in the fight for meaningful immigration reform.
The results of this enforcement-only strategy have meant that undocumented workers are suffering the brunt of the misery even as businesses continue to employ millions of them. A new study by the Center for Immigration Studies, which opposes illegal immigration, suggests this strategy has helped prompt hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers to leave the country; the economic slowdown has added to the pressure by depriving them of jobs. Still, the administration's strategy of emphasizing punishment rather than prevention underscores the need for a more durable solution.
But the basic legal and economic dynamics that created the nation's dysfunctional immigration system remain largely unchanged. Despite the economic dip, there is still demand for unskilled labor that native-born Americans cannot supply. That demand will perk up when the economy does. The number of visas available for unskilled workers -- 66,000 per year -- is laughably inadequate. Many thousands of workers continue to enter the country illegally or enter legally and then overstay their visas. A practical approach would acknowledge both the demand for unskilled labor and the fact that 5 percent of the American workforce consists of undocumented workers. It would raise the quota of temporary employment visas, establish a better system for employers to verify the legal status of job applicants and offer undocumented workers a way to register themselves and eventually earn citizenship. Critics will howl about an amnesty, but realists will see it is the way to address the reality of immigration and labor in a globalized marketplace.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/14/AR2008081403047.html
Treating the symptoms, but not the cause, of illegal immigration
Friday, August 15, 2008; A20
Washington Post Editorial
CONGRESS'S FAILURE to enact a workable immigration system last year prompted the Bush administration to redouble its previously lethargic efforts at enforcing existing immigration laws. The get-tough campaign -- more workplace raids and arrests along the Mexican border, plus a smattering of criminal cases against employers -- has two goals. One is to show a doubting public that the feds mean business. The other is to make things so miserable for businesses that corporate lobbyists join in the fight for meaningful immigration reform.
The results of this enforcement-only strategy have meant that undocumented workers are suffering the brunt of the misery even as businesses continue to employ millions of them. A new study by the Center for Immigration Studies, which opposes illegal immigration, suggests this strategy has helped prompt hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers to leave the country; the economic slowdown has added to the pressure by depriving them of jobs. Still, the administration's strategy of emphasizing punishment rather than prevention underscores the need for a more durable solution.
But the basic legal and economic dynamics that created the nation's dysfunctional immigration system remain largely unchanged. Despite the economic dip, there is still demand for unskilled labor that native-born Americans cannot supply. That demand will perk up when the economy does. The number of visas available for unskilled workers -- 66,000 per year -- is laughably inadequate. Many thousands of workers continue to enter the country illegally or enter legally and then overstay their visas. A practical approach would acknowledge both the demand for unskilled labor and the fact that 5 percent of the American workforce consists of undocumented workers. It would raise the quota of temporary employment visas, establish a better system for employers to verify the legal status of job applicants and offer undocumented workers a way to register themselves and eventually earn citizenship. Critics will howl about an amnesty, but realists will see it is the way to address the reality of immigration and labor in a globalized marketplace.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/14/AR2008081403047.html
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Exploited: The Plight of the Undocumented Worker
Exploited: The Plight of the Undocumented Worker
By Cristina Jimenez, Drum Major Institute
Posted on August 12, 2008
We all know that undocumented workers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, but under this administration, the abuses and violations of human, labor and civil rights have become obscenely worse. A recent clear example: Iowa's meatpacking plant raid.
Much has been written about the unjust and abusive means used by the Justice Department and Homeland Security to deport these workers and their families. But a recent finding reported by the New York Times is even more upsetting- Agriprocessors, the raided meatpacking plant, hired undocumented immigrants as young as 13.
Among the 389 detained, more than 20 workers were found to be under-age. But this is not all. The young immigrants declared that they were exploited, mistreated, beaten, and abused. Some of them worked 17 hours a day, six days a week. And if you think they were making some money by getting paid overtime, you are wrong. Overtime was rarely paid.
As soon as they come to the United States, undocumented workers start desperately seeking for job opportunities to sustain and provide a better life for their families-the very reason for migrating. And of course, employers are more than happy to take advantage of the availability of this vulnerable and desperate pool of workers. Conveniently, employers create low-quality jobs that immigrants are forced to take because their immigration status prevents them from getting or demanding good jobs. While working, undocumented workers endure unfair treatment and wages because they fear being fired or reported to immigration.
http://www.alternet.org/story/94703/
By Cristina Jimenez, Drum Major Institute
Posted on August 12, 2008
We all know that undocumented workers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, but under this administration, the abuses and violations of human, labor and civil rights have become obscenely worse. A recent clear example: Iowa's meatpacking plant raid.
Much has been written about the unjust and abusive means used by the Justice Department and Homeland Security to deport these workers and their families. But a recent finding reported by the New York Times is even more upsetting- Agriprocessors, the raided meatpacking plant, hired undocumented immigrants as young as 13.
Among the 389 detained, more than 20 workers were found to be under-age. But this is not all. The young immigrants declared that they were exploited, mistreated, beaten, and abused. Some of them worked 17 hours a day, six days a week. And if you think they were making some money by getting paid overtime, you are wrong. Overtime was rarely paid.
As soon as they come to the United States, undocumented workers start desperately seeking for job opportunities to sustain and provide a better life for their families-the very reason for migrating. And of course, employers are more than happy to take advantage of the availability of this vulnerable and desperate pool of workers. Conveniently, employers create low-quality jobs that immigrants are forced to take because their immigration status prevents them from getting or demanding good jobs. While working, undocumented workers endure unfair treatment and wages because they fear being fired or reported to immigration.
http://www.alternet.org/story/94703/
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Immigrants’ Speedy Trials After Raid Become Issue
August 9, 2008
Immigrants’ Speedy Trials After Raid Become Issue
By JULIA PRESTON
Immigration and criminal defense lawyers were stunned in May when nearly 300 illegal immigrant workers who had been detained in a raid at an Iowa meatpacking plant were convicted on criminal charges and sentenced to prison — all in just four days.
Now the legal blueprint for those extraordinarily swift proceedings has come to light, and it is raising questions about the close collaboration in the months before the raid between the federal court in Iowa and the prosecutors who pressed the charges.
The blueprint is a 117-page compendium of scripts, laying out step by step the hearings that would come after the raid at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out at a single workplace.
The United States attorney’s office in Iowa said the documents, recently posted on the Web site of the American Civil Liberties Union, were not binding and were prepared to assist defense lawyers with a sudden crush of defendants. Most of the immigrants pleaded guilty to document fraud and were sentenced to five months in prison. Some Iowa lawyers said they did find the scripts helpful.
But some critics of the proceedings say the documents suggest that the court had endorsed the prosecutors’ drive to obtain the guilty pleas even before the hearings began. The scripts included a model of the guilty pleas that prosecutors planned to offer as well as statements to be made by the judges when they accepted the pleas and handed down sentences.
“This was the Postville prosecution guilty-plea machine,” said Lucas Guttentag, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project of the A.C.L.U. “The entire process seemed to presume and be designed for fast-track guilty pleas.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/us/09immig.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Immigrants’ Speedy Trials After Raid Become Issue
By JULIA PRESTON
Immigration and criminal defense lawyers were stunned in May when nearly 300 illegal immigrant workers who had been detained in a raid at an Iowa meatpacking plant were convicted on criminal charges and sentenced to prison — all in just four days.
Now the legal blueprint for those extraordinarily swift proceedings has come to light, and it is raising questions about the close collaboration in the months before the raid between the federal court in Iowa and the prosecutors who pressed the charges.
The blueprint is a 117-page compendium of scripts, laying out step by step the hearings that would come after the raid at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out at a single workplace.
The United States attorney’s office in Iowa said the documents, recently posted on the Web site of the American Civil Liberties Union, were not binding and were prepared to assist defense lawyers with a sudden crush of defendants. Most of the immigrants pleaded guilty to document fraud and were sentenced to five months in prison. Some Iowa lawyers said they did find the scripts helpful.
But some critics of the proceedings say the documents suggest that the court had endorsed the prosecutors’ drive to obtain the guilty pleas even before the hearings began. The scripts included a model of the guilty pleas that prosecutors planned to offer as well as statements to be made by the judges when they accepted the pleas and handed down sentences.
“This was the Postville prosecution guilty-plea machine,” said Lucas Guttentag, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project of the A.C.L.U. “The entire process seemed to presume and be designed for fast-track guilty pleas.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/us/09immig.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
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