By Rebekah L. Cowell
Facing South
March 21, 2011
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that all 100 counties in North Carolina have been connected to the Secure Communities program. That makes North Carolina the 10th state to implement the program statewide, along with the border states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California and Florida. The Obama administration has said its goal is to have every state enrolled in the program within the next two years.
While supporters of the program say it's needed to identify and target criminal aliens, immigrant rights advocates raise concerns that it creates distrust between the immigrant community and local police.
Under Secure Communities, individuals arrested by local law enforcement officers are supposed to be fingerprinted and their prints are run through two separate databases -- the FBI's criminal database and ICE's IDENT database. Immigration status is confirmed by "hits" that indicate whether the individual has papers or is undocumented. ICE detains undocumented individuals and takes steps to deport them. ICE says the program "improves and modernizes the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States."
Early supporters of Secure Communities in Congress including Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) had hoped that the program would alleviate some of the racial profiling concerns connected to the controversial 287(g) program, which deputized local law enforcement officers as immigration officers and gave them authority to initiate immigration deportation proceedings. During his tenure as chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriation Committee in the past two congressional sessions, Price said he pressured ICE to adhere to the stated goals of Secure Communities.
"The expansion of Secure Communities is largely responsible for the fact that for the first time in the agency's history, ICE is now removing more criminals than non-criminals from this country," said Price. "Still, there is no question that ICE must continue to sharpen the program's focus on serious criminal offenders, and I will continue to push for that objective as I help oversee the budget for ICE."
Other proponents of the Secure Communities program include the North Carolina Sheriff's Association, whose executive vice president, Edmond Caldwell Jr., does not believe the program present challenges for local law enforcement officers. "The program is important in North Carolina and across America because it provides important information to law enforcement officers about persons who have violated the law and been arrested," Caldwell said.
Price and other supporters of Secure Communities argue that the program represents an improvement over 287(g) because the decision of whether to put someone into deportation proceedings rests with ICE and not local law enforcement. But others wonder whether that distinction will be clear to immigrants.
"I am sure that those who advocate for Secure Communities are sincere when they say that it disengages local law enforcement from immigration enforcement, but all my clients know is that their wife or sister or son were deported after being arrested by a local cop for driving without a license," said Marty Rosenbluth executive director of the N.C. Immigrant Rights Project. "This links local police to ICE and creates fear of the police in the eyes of the community."
There are also questions about whether the program effectively targets criminal aliens, since statistics released by ICE show the majority of immigrants deported through the Secure Communities program were either never convicted of any offense or were convicted of low-level crimes. Consider the experience of Wake County, which became the first North Carolina county to enroll in the program in November 2008: Data released by ICE last month showed that 64 percent of all Secure Communities deportees from Wake County were non-criminal.
"The Secure Communities program was designed to catch convicted felons, but in actuality the program is making a broad sweep across the non-criminal immigrant population," said Rosenbluth.
Despite these concerns, Rep. Price believes that if the Secure Communities program is used as ICE intended then the program is "far more efficient, just, and better for our communities than the system of work-site raids emphasized during the Bush Administration, when we were deporting hundreds of thousands more non-criminals than criminals."
But immigrant rights advocates say this argument misses the point.
"The question that needs to be asked is whether immigrants are being arrested and fingerprinted for offenses where non-immigrants would only receive a citation," Rosenbluth said. "I doubt very much I would be handcuffed and fingerprinted if I left my wallet and license at home and were ticketed for driving without a license."
http://www.southernstudies.org/2011/03/controversial-immigration-enforcement-program-goes-statewide-in-north-carolina.html
Showing posts with label Expulsions in SC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Expulsions in SC. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Crux of immigration case: Did bosses know?
Federal trial of Columbia Farms poultry plant managers is scheduled to start today in S.C.
By Ames Alexander and Franco Ordoñez
Staff Writers, Charlotte Observer
Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009
GREENVILLE, S.C. The government's long-simmering case against Columbia Farms could play out in a federal courtroom starting today. Barring a last-minute plea deal, the poultry company and two of its top managers will go to trial on charges they knowingly employed illegal immigrants.
The government will probably build its criminal case largely on the testimony of former company human resources officials and documents submitted by illegal immigrants when they were hired, court filings suggest.
The company - a subsidiary of N.C.-based House of Raeford Farms - is expected to argue that it followed all federal laws. Those laws prohibit employers from scrutinizing employee documentation too closely - and from rejecting documents that "reasonably appear to be genuine," the company has said in court motions.
"Employers such as Columbia Farms are left with a Hobson's choice: do nothing and risk immigration charges or take action against possible unauthorized workers and face discrimination charges," defense lawyers wrote in a recent motion.
The two sides were in talks Monday night, but it was unclear whether a deal would be reached.
"The vast, vast majority of federal criminal cases are resolved with a plea agreement, because federal law enforcement, such as the FBI, generally have rock-solid cases before an arrest is even made," Jeremy McKinney, an immigration lawyer from Greensboro, wrote in an e-mail to the Observer.
Still, McKinney said, the government faces a challenging task: proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants knew that workers were in the country illegally.
Two top managers - Barry Cronic, complex manager of the company's Greenville, S.C., plant, and Elaine Crump, the plant's human resources director - could face more than five years in federal prison if convicted.
And House of Raeford could face stiff fines and the loss of government contracts worth millions. During the past year, House of Raeford has been awarded about $6.7 million in federal contracts - including nearly $1 million in federal stimulus money - to supply turkey for school lunches and low-income people.
In a February 2008 series on workplace safety in the poultry industry, the Observer reported that some House of Raeford managers knowingly employed illegal immigrants. Current and former supervisors said the plants preferred undocumented workers because they were less likely to question working conditions for fear of being fired or deported.
Five months after those stories were published, Crump was indicted. Soon afterward, immigration authorities raided the Greenville plant, detaining more than 300 workers believed to be in the country illegally. Most of those workers have since been deported.
Authorities, who filed additional charges against Cronic and Columbia Farms this year, allege that the three defendants intentionally hired illegal workers from 2000 until October 2008. Prosecutors contend Crump instructed human resource employees to use previously signed employment verification documents for new hires.
According to motions filed last week, the government is hoping to introduce into evidence "no match letters" - letters that the Social Security Administration sent to Columbia Farms, notifying it that the tax information submitted for some employees did not match government records.
The 2008 raid came after authorities determined that 777 of 825 workers at the plant had apparently submitted false documents to get their jobs.
The government is likely to put former human resources officials on the stand. Two of them have told the Observer that top plant officials knew that many workers were in the country illegally. One of them - former Greenville human resources employee Caitlyn Davis - said she was told not to examine actual IDs when hiring, but instead to copy the IDs, then review the black-and-white images. She said some Latino applicants provided discolored Permanent Resident Cards, but such flaws did not show up in the black-and-white copies.
Federal immigration law requires little of companies when checking applicants' IDs. Employers don't have to verify workers' immigration status or check that their IDs are valid.
The defendants are asking the court to exclude the "no match" letters from evidence, arguing that they provide no proof workers are in the country illegally and that the law prevents employers from taking action against workers based solely on those letters.
The company is asking the court to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the government deported workers who might have helped the defense.
"The Government did not afford the Defendants in this case an opportunity to interview the aliens before it removed them from the United States," attorneys for the defendants wrote in a motion to dismiss.
The government counters that the defendants have done nothing to show that the deported workers could help their case. Prosecutors also suggested there's little to stop defense lawyers from interviewing many unauthorized workers who weren't deported. Authorities have given the defendants contact information for 83 illegal aliens who were released locally for humanitarian reasons, prosecutors wrote in a recent court filing.
A judge has yet to rule on that motion.
Cronic, Crump and Columbia Farms have all hired leading S.C. criminal defense lawyers.
House of Raeford is one of the nation's top chicken and turkey producers, with eight processing plants in the Southeast and about 6,000 employees.
Before 2005, federal authorities rarely pursued employers for immigration violations. That's changed. Since October 2006, more than 300 owners, managers, supervisors and human resources employees have been criminally charged with immigration violations, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Early this year, a federal judge sentenced the owner of a Massachusetts leather-goods factory to a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to harboring and concealing undocumented workers. Francesco Insolia, the owner of Michael Bianco Inc., was also ordered to pay $1 million after an immigration raid that led to the arrest of 361 workers.
But in another high-profile case, Tyson Foods fought federal immigrant smuggling charges at trial - and was acquitted. The 2003 trial followed guilty pleas by two Tyson managers, who had been charged with conspiring to hire illegal immigrants. McClatchy reporter Barbara Barrett contributed.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/1034311.html
By Ames Alexander and Franco Ordoñez
Staff Writers, Charlotte Observer
Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009
GREENVILLE, S.C. The government's long-simmering case against Columbia Farms could play out in a federal courtroom starting today. Barring a last-minute plea deal, the poultry company and two of its top managers will go to trial on charges they knowingly employed illegal immigrants.
The government will probably build its criminal case largely on the testimony of former company human resources officials and documents submitted by illegal immigrants when they were hired, court filings suggest.
The company - a subsidiary of N.C.-based House of Raeford Farms - is expected to argue that it followed all federal laws. Those laws prohibit employers from scrutinizing employee documentation too closely - and from rejecting documents that "reasonably appear to be genuine," the company has said in court motions.
"Employers such as Columbia Farms are left with a Hobson's choice: do nothing and risk immigration charges or take action against possible unauthorized workers and face discrimination charges," defense lawyers wrote in a recent motion.
The two sides were in talks Monday night, but it was unclear whether a deal would be reached.
"The vast, vast majority of federal criminal cases are resolved with a plea agreement, because federal law enforcement, such as the FBI, generally have rock-solid cases before an arrest is even made," Jeremy McKinney, an immigration lawyer from Greensboro, wrote in an e-mail to the Observer.
Still, McKinney said, the government faces a challenging task: proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants knew that workers were in the country illegally.
Two top managers - Barry Cronic, complex manager of the company's Greenville, S.C., plant, and Elaine Crump, the plant's human resources director - could face more than five years in federal prison if convicted.
And House of Raeford could face stiff fines and the loss of government contracts worth millions. During the past year, House of Raeford has been awarded about $6.7 million in federal contracts - including nearly $1 million in federal stimulus money - to supply turkey for school lunches and low-income people.
In a February 2008 series on workplace safety in the poultry industry, the Observer reported that some House of Raeford managers knowingly employed illegal immigrants. Current and former supervisors said the plants preferred undocumented workers because they were less likely to question working conditions for fear of being fired or deported.
Five months after those stories were published, Crump was indicted. Soon afterward, immigration authorities raided the Greenville plant, detaining more than 300 workers believed to be in the country illegally. Most of those workers have since been deported.
Authorities, who filed additional charges against Cronic and Columbia Farms this year, allege that the three defendants intentionally hired illegal workers from 2000 until October 2008. Prosecutors contend Crump instructed human resource employees to use previously signed employment verification documents for new hires.
According to motions filed last week, the government is hoping to introduce into evidence "no match letters" - letters that the Social Security Administration sent to Columbia Farms, notifying it that the tax information submitted for some employees did not match government records.
The 2008 raid came after authorities determined that 777 of 825 workers at the plant had apparently submitted false documents to get their jobs.
The government is likely to put former human resources officials on the stand. Two of them have told the Observer that top plant officials knew that many workers were in the country illegally. One of them - former Greenville human resources employee Caitlyn Davis - said she was told not to examine actual IDs when hiring, but instead to copy the IDs, then review the black-and-white images. She said some Latino applicants provided discolored Permanent Resident Cards, but such flaws did not show up in the black-and-white copies.
Federal immigration law requires little of companies when checking applicants' IDs. Employers don't have to verify workers' immigration status or check that their IDs are valid.
The defendants are asking the court to exclude the "no match" letters from evidence, arguing that they provide no proof workers are in the country illegally and that the law prevents employers from taking action against workers based solely on those letters.
The company is asking the court to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the government deported workers who might have helped the defense.
"The Government did not afford the Defendants in this case an opportunity to interview the aliens before it removed them from the United States," attorneys for the defendants wrote in a motion to dismiss.
The government counters that the defendants have done nothing to show that the deported workers could help their case. Prosecutors also suggested there's little to stop defense lawyers from interviewing many unauthorized workers who weren't deported. Authorities have given the defendants contact information for 83 illegal aliens who were released locally for humanitarian reasons, prosecutors wrote in a recent court filing.
A judge has yet to rule on that motion.
Cronic, Crump and Columbia Farms have all hired leading S.C. criminal defense lawyers.
House of Raeford is one of the nation's top chicken and turkey producers, with eight processing plants in the Southeast and about 6,000 employees.
Before 2005, federal authorities rarely pursued employers for immigration violations. That's changed. Since October 2006, more than 300 owners, managers, supervisors and human resources employees have been criminally charged with immigration violations, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Early this year, a federal judge sentenced the owner of a Massachusetts leather-goods factory to a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to harboring and concealing undocumented workers. Francesco Insolia, the owner of Michael Bianco Inc., was also ordered to pay $1 million after an immigration raid that led to the arrest of 361 workers.
But in another high-profile case, Tyson Foods fought federal immigrant smuggling charges at trial - and was acquitted. The 2003 trial followed guilty pleas by two Tyson managers, who had been charged with conspiring to hire illegal immigrants. McClatchy reporter Barbara Barrett contributed.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/1034311.html
Friday, October 23, 2009
NC firm says defense witnesses in SC raid deported
Oct. 20, 2009
The Associated Press
A North Carolina poultry company charged with employing illegal immigrants at a South Carolina plant has argued that the government deported workers needed by defense attorneys.
The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday that Columbia Farms argued in court motions that the government didn't give the company's lawyers a chance to interview workers arrested in last October's raid. The paper said it is unclear what information the workers would have provided the defense, but defense attorneys said they wouldn't have been deported if they could have helped the government's case.
More than 330 people were arrested in the massive raid on the Greenville, S.C., processing plant. Prosecutors say most of the workers have been deported. Several dozen others pleaded guilty and are serving prison time for using illegal documents and false Social Security numbers or for re-entering the country illegally.
The plant manager, Barry Cronic, was indicted earlier this year. Prosecutors said Cronic began hiring illegal immigrants at the Columbia Farms plant in 2000 and kept hiring them until the raid last October. Personnel manager Elaine Crump was charged with lying on employment forms.
Both have plead not guilty.
Columbia Farms' parent company, House of Raeford, processes chickens and turkeys in eight plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Michigan. Prosecutors have said the North Carolina-based company is cooperating and has not been charged.
http://www.thesunnews.com/news/breaking_news/story/1124973.html
The Associated Press
A North Carolina poultry company charged with employing illegal immigrants at a South Carolina plant has argued that the government deported workers needed by defense attorneys.
The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday that Columbia Farms argued in court motions that the government didn't give the company's lawyers a chance to interview workers arrested in last October's raid. The paper said it is unclear what information the workers would have provided the defense, but defense attorneys said they wouldn't have been deported if they could have helped the government's case.
More than 330 people were arrested in the massive raid on the Greenville, S.C., processing plant. Prosecutors say most of the workers have been deported. Several dozen others pleaded guilty and are serving prison time for using illegal documents and false Social Security numbers or for re-entering the country illegally.
The plant manager, Barry Cronic, was indicted earlier this year. Prosecutors said Cronic began hiring illegal immigrants at the Columbia Farms plant in 2000 and kept hiring them until the raid last October. Personnel manager Elaine Crump was charged with lying on employment forms.
Both have plead not guilty.
Columbia Farms' parent company, House of Raeford, processes chickens and turkeys in eight plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Michigan. Prosecutors have said the North Carolina-based company is cooperating and has not been charged.
http://www.thesunnews.com/news/breaking_news/story/1124973.html
Saturday, April 18, 2009
SC poultry plant manager faces immigration charge
By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press Writer
April 16, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The manager of a Greenville poultry plant has been indicted on a charge he knowingly hired illegal immigrants as the investigation into hiring practices at Columbia Farms took another step up the management ladder.
Barry Cronic began hiring illegal workers in 2000 and kept hiring them until a plant raid in October 2008, according to an indictment handed up Wednesday.
Last October, federal agents raided the plant during a shift change. Employees screamed and scrambled to get away, but agents blocked the entrances and found more than 300 workers who were in the U.S. illegally, most of them from Mexico or Central American countries, authorities said.
Personnel manager Elaine Crump also was indicted Wednesday on a similar charge. She already faces 20 counts of telling workers to use falsified immigration documents and has pleaded not guilty.
Cronic's indictment marked another step up the organizational chart at Columbia Farms. The plant is owned by House of Raeford. Prosecutors have refused to say if the probe would eventually end up at corporate headquarters.
"This isn't the end of the investigation. We're following the information where it goes," assistant U.S. attorney Kevin McDonald said.
Court records didn't show an attorney for Cronic, and a phone listing couldn't be found. Crump's lawyer was handling a case out of state and couldn't be reached.
Most of the more than 300 illegal workers swept up in the raid have been deported, McDonald said. He added that the exceptions are about 20 people who have pleaded guilty and are serving time in prison for criminal charges such as using illegal documents and false Social Security numbers or re-entering the country illegally.
Officials with House of Raeford didn't return a phone call seeking comment. The company has said before it doesn't knowingly hire illegal immigrants and is cooperating with investigators.
The Raeford, N.C., company processes chickens and turkeys in plants in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. Its Greenville plant stayed closed for less than a month after the raid.
The South Carolina raid wasn't the only big roundup of illegal immigrants in 2008.
In August, nearly 600 suspected illegal workers were detained at a Mississippi electrical manufacturing plant in the largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history. Last May, federal immigration officials detained 389 people in a sweep through an Iowa plant of Agriprocessors Inc., one of the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouses.
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/4964540/
Associated Press Writer
April 16, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The manager of a Greenville poultry plant has been indicted on a charge he knowingly hired illegal immigrants as the investigation into hiring practices at Columbia Farms took another step up the management ladder.
Barry Cronic began hiring illegal workers in 2000 and kept hiring them until a plant raid in October 2008, according to an indictment handed up Wednesday.
Last October, federal agents raided the plant during a shift change. Employees screamed and scrambled to get away, but agents blocked the entrances and found more than 300 workers who were in the U.S. illegally, most of them from Mexico or Central American countries, authorities said.
Personnel manager Elaine Crump also was indicted Wednesday on a similar charge. She already faces 20 counts of telling workers to use falsified immigration documents and has pleaded not guilty.
Cronic's indictment marked another step up the organizational chart at Columbia Farms. The plant is owned by House of Raeford. Prosecutors have refused to say if the probe would eventually end up at corporate headquarters.
"This isn't the end of the investigation. We're following the information where it goes," assistant U.S. attorney Kevin McDonald said.
Court records didn't show an attorney for Cronic, and a phone listing couldn't be found. Crump's lawyer was handling a case out of state and couldn't be reached.
Most of the more than 300 illegal workers swept up in the raid have been deported, McDonald said. He added that the exceptions are about 20 people who have pleaded guilty and are serving time in prison for criminal charges such as using illegal documents and false Social Security numbers or re-entering the country illegally.
Officials with House of Raeford didn't return a phone call seeking comment. The company has said before it doesn't knowingly hire illegal immigrants and is cooperating with investigators.
The Raeford, N.C., company processes chickens and turkeys in plants in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. Its Greenville plant stayed closed for less than a month after the raid.
The South Carolina raid wasn't the only big roundup of illegal immigrants in 2008.
In August, nearly 600 suspected illegal workers were detained at a Mississippi electrical manufacturing plant in the largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history. Last May, federal immigration officials detained 389 people in a sweep through an Iowa plant of Agriprocessors Inc., one of the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouses.
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/4964540/
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Group calls for halt on deportations
Group calls for halt on deportations
By Tara Lynn
Reporter, WCBD in South Carolina
Published: January 3, 2009
President elect Barack Obama has 17 more days until he’s officially in office, but that’s not keeping some from already calling on him to take action on immigration reform.
Maria Aguirre-Fuentes came to the United States 11 years ago following her American Dream of prosperity.
While her 3 children are in the states with her, her parents are not.
She came to volunteer at this Immigration Reform Forum in downtown Charleston to change that.
“We want there to be a solution so we can be like everybody else in this country and succeed with our dreams,” she told News 2 with the help of a translator.
More than 300 people like Aguirre-Fuentes came to add their name to a list to be presented to President Elect Barack Obama. Their goal: to persuade the president elect to place a moratorium on deportation until congress can reform immigration laws. Famlia Latina Unida Chicago Organizer Emma Lozano says the current laws are unjust.
http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/article/group_calls_for_halt_on_deportations/18762/
By Tara Lynn
Reporter, WCBD in South Carolina
Published: January 3, 2009
President elect Barack Obama has 17 more days until he’s officially in office, but that’s not keeping some from already calling on him to take action on immigration reform.
Maria Aguirre-Fuentes came to the United States 11 years ago following her American Dream of prosperity.
While her 3 children are in the states with her, her parents are not.
She came to volunteer at this Immigration Reform Forum in downtown Charleston to change that.
“We want there to be a solution so we can be like everybody else in this country and succeed with our dreams,” she told News 2 with the help of a translator.
More than 300 people like Aguirre-Fuentes came to add their name to a list to be presented to President Elect Barack Obama. Their goal: to persuade the president elect to place a moratorium on deportation until congress can reform immigration laws. Famlia Latina Unida Chicago Organizer Emma Lozano says the current laws are unjust.
http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/article/group_calls_for_halt_on_deportations/18762/
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Workers held in poultry plant raid go before immigration officials today
Workers held in poultry plant raid go before immigration officials today
By E. Richard Walton, STAFF WRITER
November 12, 2008
The Greenville News
The first group of 80 to 100 undocumented workers are headed to a federal office in Greer today after they were detained in a raid at a Greenville poultry plant a month ago by immigration officials, a spokeswoman said.
Adela Mendoza of the Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community, a volunteer group, said six lawyers are expected to represent the workers "pro bono." Each lawyer will handle between 10 to 15 workers, she said.
The workers will discuss their cases with agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Greer, lawyers said.
Most of the 100 workers who were released since the raid are women and "primary care givers" for kids or other relatives, ICE officials say.
ICE said they were released for "humanitarian" reasons. All are required to wear monitors on their ankles so ICE can keep track of their whereabouts.
The meetings are expected to last through Nov. 19, Mendoza said.
"We don’t know if the meetings are going to take 5 minutes or 25 minutes," she said.
Mendoza said the workers being represented by volunteer attorney Amy Shelley will have their cases reviewed first.
Tricia Ravenhorst is another immigration lawyer who has helped collect much of the data on the workers.
Mendoza said the six lawyers representing the workers all speak Spanish. The lawyers spoke to the workers over the weekend in preparation for the meetings with ICE.
She said workers would have their cases heard in immigration court in Atlanta.
Lawyers advise ACCH that the workers may not have much legal ground to remain in the United States.
"Pretty much everybody is going to be deported," Mendoza said. Some workers have been in this country for a decade or more, she said.
What complicates the situation is that 80 or more of the women have children who were born in the United States, making them U.S. citizens, she said.
"Some have two or three U.S. citizen children," Mendoza said.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081112/NEWS01/81112019/1004/NEWS01
By E. Richard Walton, STAFF WRITER
November 12, 2008
The Greenville News
The first group of 80 to 100 undocumented workers are headed to a federal office in Greer today after they were detained in a raid at a Greenville poultry plant a month ago by immigration officials, a spokeswoman said.
Adela Mendoza of the Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community, a volunteer group, said six lawyers are expected to represent the workers "pro bono." Each lawyer will handle between 10 to 15 workers, she said.
The workers will discuss their cases with agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Greer, lawyers said.
Most of the 100 workers who were released since the raid are women and "primary care givers" for kids or other relatives, ICE officials say.
ICE said they were released for "humanitarian" reasons. All are required to wear monitors on their ankles so ICE can keep track of their whereabouts.
The meetings are expected to last through Nov. 19, Mendoza said.
"We don’t know if the meetings are going to take 5 minutes or 25 minutes," she said.
Mendoza said the workers being represented by volunteer attorney Amy Shelley will have their cases reviewed first.
Tricia Ravenhorst is another immigration lawyer who has helped collect much of the data on the workers.
Mendoza said the six lawyers representing the workers all speak Spanish. The lawyers spoke to the workers over the weekend in preparation for the meetings with ICE.
She said workers would have their cases heard in immigration court in Atlanta.
Lawyers advise ACCH that the workers may not have much legal ground to remain in the United States.
"Pretty much everybody is going to be deported," Mendoza said. Some workers have been in this country for a decade or more, she said.
What complicates the situation is that 80 or more of the women have children who were born in the United States, making them U.S. citizens, she said.
"Some have two or three U.S. citizen children," Mendoza said.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081112/NEWS01/81112019/1004/NEWS01
Monday, November 3, 2008
Workers' arrests lead to tangle of challenges
Workers' arrests lead to tangle of challenges
Hearings set for Nov. 12, but family, property issues remain, say volunteers
By E. Richard Walton, STAFF WRITER
Greenville Online
November 2, 2008
Many of the undocumented workers caught in a federal raid in Greenville last month may be deported, leaving behind family members, homes, cars, clothes and other property which a network of local volunteers is trying to sort and manage.
Court hearings are set to begin Nov. 12, according to a local attorney who has been providing legal advice to workers accused of using fake or falsified paperwork to get jobs at House of Raeford Columbia Farms chicken-processing plant on Rutherford Road. About a dozen supervisors were also arrested prior to the raid.
Patricia Ravenhorst, a lawyer with the Wyche law firm, said some of the workers being held in Georgia jails aren't going to fight the charges. She said they have been transferred to jails in Alabama to be deported.
Ravenhorst said she knows very few instances when undocumented workers caught in a raid like this have been permitted to remain in the United States.
A number of area churches are providing emotional and financial support to the workers and their families in the meantime, said Bill Lancaster, a spokesman for Foothills Presbytery.
More than 230 of the workers, most of them Guatemalans, are being held in two jails in Georgia, according to Ravenhorst. At last count, federal officials have released about 58 workers.
Most of those released were women, primary caregivers or the family's major wage earner, according to a report by Ravenhorst. Those caregivers who were released agreed to wear electronic monitors on their ankles.
Ravenhorst said volunteers are still screening those with court dates and trying to get lawyers to represent them.
"We have 379 people in our database, from which 107 have been released and are still in Greenville," said Adela Mendoza, a member of the Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community, a nonprofit aided by volunteers.
Mendoza said there are other Hispanic workers who were asking for help, but volunteers wanted to focus solely on those caught in the raid and released from jail.
"We called folks who were wearing bracelets," she said.
Volunteers bought $500 worth of food which they sorted and packed in 100 boxes to distribute. About $10,000 has been donated to those families to pay rent or mortgages that might be due.
While the raid attacked one problem, others remain, Lancaster said. For example, couples from other countries who have lived and worked in the United States for years have children who are American-born.
"It makes things complicated," Lancaster said.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081102/NEWS01/811020319/1001/NEWS01
Hearings set for Nov. 12, but family, property issues remain, say volunteers
By E. Richard Walton, STAFF WRITER
Greenville Online
November 2, 2008
Many of the undocumented workers caught in a federal raid in Greenville last month may be deported, leaving behind family members, homes, cars, clothes and other property which a network of local volunteers is trying to sort and manage.
Court hearings are set to begin Nov. 12, according to a local attorney who has been providing legal advice to workers accused of using fake or falsified paperwork to get jobs at House of Raeford Columbia Farms chicken-processing plant on Rutherford Road. About a dozen supervisors were also arrested prior to the raid.
Patricia Ravenhorst, a lawyer with the Wyche law firm, said some of the workers being held in Georgia jails aren't going to fight the charges. She said they have been transferred to jails in Alabama to be deported.
Ravenhorst said she knows very few instances when undocumented workers caught in a raid like this have been permitted to remain in the United States.
A number of area churches are providing emotional and financial support to the workers and their families in the meantime, said Bill Lancaster, a spokesman for Foothills Presbytery.
More than 230 of the workers, most of them Guatemalans, are being held in two jails in Georgia, according to Ravenhorst. At last count, federal officials have released about 58 workers.
Most of those released were women, primary caregivers or the family's major wage earner, according to a report by Ravenhorst. Those caregivers who were released agreed to wear electronic monitors on their ankles.
Ravenhorst said volunteers are still screening those with court dates and trying to get lawyers to represent them.
"We have 379 people in our database, from which 107 have been released and are still in Greenville," said Adela Mendoza, a member of the Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community, a nonprofit aided by volunteers.
Mendoza said there are other Hispanic workers who were asking for help, but volunteers wanted to focus solely on those caught in the raid and released from jail.
"We called folks who were wearing bracelets," she said.
Volunteers bought $500 worth of food which they sorted and packed in 100 boxes to distribute. About $10,000 has been donated to those families to pay rent or mortgages that might be due.
While the raid attacked one problem, others remain, Lancaster said. For example, couples from other countries who have lived and worked in the United States for years have children who are American-born.
"It makes things complicated," Lancaster said.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081102/NEWS01/811020319/1001/NEWS01
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Immigration raid nets workers but stresses family fabrics
Immigration raid nets workers but stresses family fabrics
By E. Richard Walton, STAFF WRITER
Greenville Online, South Carolina
October 31, 2008
Many of the undocumented workers caught in a federal raid in Greenville last month may be deported, leaving behind children and other family members, homes, cars, clothes and property which a network of local volunteers are trying to sort and manage.
Court hearings are set to begin Nov. 12, according to a local attorney who has been providing legal advice to the affected workers.
The workers are accused of using fake and/or falsified paperwork to get jobs cutting chicken at Columbia Farms on Rutherford Road. More than 10 to 12 supervisors were also arrested prior to the raid.
Patricia Ravenhorst, a lawyer with the Wyche law firm, said some workers are being held in Georgia jails and have opted not to fight the charges. She said they have been transferred to jails in Alabama to be deported. She said she knows very few instances when undocumented workers caught in a raid like this have been permitted to remain in the United States.
"It rarely happens," she said.
A number of area churches are providing emotional and financial support to the workers and their families in the meantime, said Bill Lancaster, a spokesman for Foothills Presbytery.
"I think there’s no way to stop them from being deported," he said. "Some have already signed papers to be deported."
More than 230 of the workers, most of them Guatemalans, are being held in two jails in Georgia, according to Ravenhorst. At last count, about 58 workers were released for humanitarian reasons by federal prosecutors and ICE agents.
Most of those released were women or are primary caregivers or are the family’s major wager earner, according to a report by Ravenhorst. Those caregivers who were released agreed to wear electronic monitors on their ankles.
Ravenhorst said volunteers are still screening those with court dates, and volunteers are trying to get lawyers to represent them.
"We have 379 people in our data base, from which 107 have been released and are still in Greenville," said Adela Mendoza, a member of the Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community, a non-profit aided by volunteers.
Mendoza said there are other Hispanic workers who were asking for help, but volunteers wanted to focus solely on those caught in the raid and released from jail.
"We called folks who were wearing bracelets," she said.
Last Friday, volunteers bought $500 worth of food which they sorted and packed in 100boxes to distrubute. About $10,000 has been donated to those families to pay rent or mortgages due today.
While the raid attacked one problem, it left behind a complicated situation, Lancaster said. Couples from other countries and have lived and worked in the United States for a number of years have children who are American-born children.
"It makes things complicated," Lancaster said.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081031/NEWS01/81031013/1013/NEWS05
By E. Richard Walton, STAFF WRITER
Greenville Online, South Carolina
October 31, 2008
Many of the undocumented workers caught in a federal raid in Greenville last month may be deported, leaving behind children and other family members, homes, cars, clothes and property which a network of local volunteers are trying to sort and manage.
Court hearings are set to begin Nov. 12, according to a local attorney who has been providing legal advice to the affected workers.
The workers are accused of using fake and/or falsified paperwork to get jobs cutting chicken at Columbia Farms on Rutherford Road. More than 10 to 12 supervisors were also arrested prior to the raid.
Patricia Ravenhorst, a lawyer with the Wyche law firm, said some workers are being held in Georgia jails and have opted not to fight the charges. She said they have been transferred to jails in Alabama to be deported. She said she knows very few instances when undocumented workers caught in a raid like this have been permitted to remain in the United States.
"It rarely happens," she said.
A number of area churches are providing emotional and financial support to the workers and their families in the meantime, said Bill Lancaster, a spokesman for Foothills Presbytery.
"I think there’s no way to stop them from being deported," he said. "Some have already signed papers to be deported."
More than 230 of the workers, most of them Guatemalans, are being held in two jails in Georgia, according to Ravenhorst. At last count, about 58 workers were released for humanitarian reasons by federal prosecutors and ICE agents.
Most of those released were women or are primary caregivers or are the family’s major wager earner, according to a report by Ravenhorst. Those caregivers who were released agreed to wear electronic monitors on their ankles.
Ravenhorst said volunteers are still screening those with court dates, and volunteers are trying to get lawyers to represent them.
"We have 379 people in our data base, from which 107 have been released and are still in Greenville," said Adela Mendoza, a member of the Alliance for Collaboration with the Hispanic Community, a non-profit aided by volunteers.
Mendoza said there are other Hispanic workers who were asking for help, but volunteers wanted to focus solely on those caught in the raid and released from jail.
"We called folks who were wearing bracelets," she said.
Last Friday, volunteers bought $500 worth of food which they sorted and packed in 100boxes to distrubute. About $10,000 has been donated to those families to pay rent or mortgages due today.
While the raid attacked one problem, it left behind a complicated situation, Lancaster said. Couples from other countries and have lived and worked in the United States for a number of years have children who are American-born children.
"It makes things complicated," Lancaster said.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081031/NEWS01/81031013/1013/NEWS05
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
ICE raids South Carolina poultry plant
ICE raids South Carolina poultry plant
WW4 Report
Wed, 10/22/2008 - 03:32
On Oct. 7, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents executed a federal criminal search warrant at the House of Raeford's Columbia Farms poultry processing plant in Greenville, SC, arresting 11 workers on criminal charges and 320 workers on administrative immigration charges. (ICE news release, Oct. 9) About 100 ICE agents raided the plant during shift change. ICE officials kept the workers inside the plant for most of the morning as they sought to determine how many were present in the US without permission. (AP, Oct. 7; Charlotte Observer, Oct. 8)
Two women and nine men were transferred to the custody of the US Marshals Service to face charges including re-entry after deportation, aggravated identity theft, counterfeit documents and false statements. The other 121 women and 199 men arrested were processed for deportation; 77 women and six men were released with electronic ankle monitors to await removal hearings. The remaining women were taken to the Atlanta City Detention Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The men were taken to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. The arrested workers are from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Hungary.
Six juveniles—three from Mexico and three from Guatemala—were found to be present in the US without permission. ICE released two youths to an authorized caregiver, and said it was working with the Mexican and Guatemalan consulates to reunite the others with their families in their home countries.
The raid was part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the company's employment practices which saw prior criminal charges against nine supervisors, four plant employees and one human resources manager. (ICE news release, Oct. 9)
http://www.ww4report.com/node/6190
WW4 Report
Wed, 10/22/2008 - 03:32
On Oct. 7, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents executed a federal criminal search warrant at the House of Raeford's Columbia Farms poultry processing plant in Greenville, SC, arresting 11 workers on criminal charges and 320 workers on administrative immigration charges. (ICE news release, Oct. 9) About 100 ICE agents raided the plant during shift change. ICE officials kept the workers inside the plant for most of the morning as they sought to determine how many were present in the US without permission. (AP, Oct. 7; Charlotte Observer, Oct. 8)
Two women and nine men were transferred to the custody of the US Marshals Service to face charges including re-entry after deportation, aggravated identity theft, counterfeit documents and false statements. The other 121 women and 199 men arrested were processed for deportation; 77 women and six men were released with electronic ankle monitors to await removal hearings. The remaining women were taken to the Atlanta City Detention Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The men were taken to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. The arrested workers are from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Hungary.
Six juveniles—three from Mexico and three from Guatemala—were found to be present in the US without permission. ICE released two youths to an authorized caregiver, and said it was working with the Mexican and Guatemalan consulates to reunite the others with their families in their home countries.
The raid was part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the company's employment practices which saw prior criminal charges against nine supervisors, four plant employees and one human resources manager. (ICE news release, Oct. 9)
http://www.ww4report.com/node/6190
Friday, October 10, 2008
Juveniles who worked at chicken plant are home after immigration raid
Juveniles who worked at chicken plant are home after immigration raid
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE EXCHANGE
Published: October 10, 2008
Four juveniles detained in Tuesday's immigration raid at a Greenville, S.C., poultry plant have returned to their families in Mexico and Guatemala, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Two others have been released to legal caregivers and are expected to appear later before an immigration judge, who will decide whether to deport them.
Their employment at the House of Raeford Farms plant appears to violate S.C. labor law, which prohibits people younger than 18 from working in hazardous jobs such as poultry processing.
In all, federal authorities arrested 331 workers at the plant, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. About a quarter have been released for humanitarian reasons, such as illness or caring for children. They're under orders to appear later before judges.
The rest have been interviewed and transferred to detention facilities in Georgia, where they await deportation. They'll have the option of appearing before immigration judges or simply agreeing that they broke the law. Those who do the latter could be returned to their home countries within a month or two.
Federal authorities say they're continuing their investigation into House of Raeford's hiring practices, with a focus on determining who allowed illegal immigrants to work at the plant.
"We've gathered evidence," said ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez. "We'll be sorting through the evidence. And we'll be going where the evidence takes us."
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/oct/10/juveniles-who-worked-chicken-plant-are-home-after-/#
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE EXCHANGE
Published: October 10, 2008
Four juveniles detained in Tuesday's immigration raid at a Greenville, S.C., poultry plant have returned to their families in Mexico and Guatemala, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Two others have been released to legal caregivers and are expected to appear later before an immigration judge, who will decide whether to deport them.
Their employment at the House of Raeford Farms plant appears to violate S.C. labor law, which prohibits people younger than 18 from working in hazardous jobs such as poultry processing.
In all, federal authorities arrested 331 workers at the plant, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. About a quarter have been released for humanitarian reasons, such as illness or caring for children. They're under orders to appear later before judges.
The rest have been interviewed and transferred to detention facilities in Georgia, where they await deportation. They'll have the option of appearing before immigration judges or simply agreeing that they broke the law. Those who do the latter could be returned to their home countries within a month or two.
Federal authorities say they're continuing their investigation into House of Raeford's hiring practices, with a focus on determining who allowed illegal immigrants to work at the plant.
"We've gathered evidence," said ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez. "We'll be sorting through the evidence. And we'll be going where the evidence takes us."
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/oct/10/juveniles-who-worked-chicken-plant-are-home-after-/#
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Community torn apart by SC immigration raid
Community torn apart by SC immigration raid
MITCH WEISS and JEFFREY COLLINS
10/9/2008
Associated Press
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — When Magdalana Domingo Ramirez Lopez moved to this South Carolina city nearly two years ago to work at the chicken processing plant, she felt at home.
On weekends, the neighborhood near House of Raeford's plant was filled with the sounds of salsa music and the scents of Guatemalan cooking. She would shop with her three young sons at nearby businesses that catered to the immigrants — some in the country legally, others not.
While the sights and sounds reminded Lopez of her native Guatemala, she said she was happy living in the United States — a place that offered a better life for her family.
But those hopes were shattered Tuesday when federal agents swooped into the plant, arresting 330 suspected illegal immigrants, six of them juveniles, effectively shutting down the factory and tearing apart the close-knit community.
Lopez was arrested and could be deported, as her husband was two years ago.
"My whole life has changed," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't want to go back. My sons are better off here. The country is so poor. There's nothing there."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jO9WZoMijd4RZonKDKU4OabjtjkgD93MN79O4
MITCH WEISS and JEFFREY COLLINS
10/9/2008
Associated Press
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — When Magdalana Domingo Ramirez Lopez moved to this South Carolina city nearly two years ago to work at the chicken processing plant, she felt at home.
On weekends, the neighborhood near House of Raeford's plant was filled with the sounds of salsa music and the scents of Guatemalan cooking. She would shop with her three young sons at nearby businesses that catered to the immigrants — some in the country legally, others not.
While the sights and sounds reminded Lopez of her native Guatemala, she said she was happy living in the United States — a place that offered a better life for her family.
But those hopes were shattered Tuesday when federal agents swooped into the plant, arresting 330 suspected illegal immigrants, six of them juveniles, effectively shutting down the factory and tearing apart the close-knit community.
Lopez was arrested and could be deported, as her husband was two years ago.
"My whole life has changed," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't want to go back. My sons are better off here. The country is so poor. There's nothing there."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jO9WZoMijd4RZonKDKU4OabjtjkgD93MN79O4
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Immigration authorities raid chicken processing plant
Immigration authorities raid chicken processing plant
10/08/08
By Ames Alexander and Franco Ordoqez
McClatchy Newspapers
Rome News Tribune; Rome, GA
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Federal authorities raided a House of Raeford Farms plant Tuesday, detaining more than 300 workers believed to be in the country illegally and searching for evidence of unlawful hiring practices.
Just before 9 a.m., during a shift change at the sprawling chicken processing plant, about 100 immigration agents fanned through the building, sending fearful workers fleeing.
It was the largest immigration raid ever conducted in the Carolinas. It came after authorities determined that 777 of 825 workers at the plant had apparently submitted false documents to get their jobs.
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news929093.html
10/08/08
By Ames Alexander and Franco Ordoqez
McClatchy Newspapers
Rome News Tribune; Rome, GA
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Federal authorities raided a House of Raeford Farms plant Tuesday, detaining more than 300 workers believed to be in the country illegally and searching for evidence of unlawful hiring practices.
Just before 9 a.m., during a shift change at the sprawling chicken processing plant, about 100 immigration agents fanned through the building, sending fearful workers fleeing.
It was the largest immigration raid ever conducted in the Carolinas. It came after authorities determined that 777 of 825 workers at the plant had apparently submitted false documents to get their jobs.
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news929093.html
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