According to KCRG, officials discovered a methamphetamine lab within the AgriProcessors meat processing facility in Postville, Iowa during a large-scale immigration raid. 389 arrests were made by federal agencies from what is thought to be one of the largest immigration enforcement actions ever taken in the United States. Details, inside…
AgriProcessors, founded by Aaron Rubashkin, an Hasidic Orthodox Jewish butcher and rabbi from Brooklyn, supplies over half the kosher meat sold in the United States. On May 12th agents executed criminal search warrants for aggravated identity theft and the use of fraudulent Social Security numbers. There were 697 warrants and 389 arrests. Currently, officials aren’t certain as to who exactly was operating the meth lab.
One former plant supervisor alleged that over 80% of the floor employees were illegal aliens from Mexico, Guatemala and Eastern Europe. Additionally 3 of their rabbis, whose job it is to supervise the kosher slaughter of livestock, were Israelis who were also illegally employed.
The local government has tripled its courtrooms and assigned temporary personnel to help quickly process the large number of detainees. Those who are facing criminal charges have been assigned lawyers. Those not facing criminal charges will have a hearing in front of an immigration judge who will decide if that person can stay in the country. If the judge orders deportation then that detainee will return to their home country almost immediately unless they appeal.
AgriProcessors is no stranger to controversy. In 2005 PETA released hidden video footage of inhumane practices within this same Postville facility. Then in 2006, the company was fined $600,000 for environmental damages caused by raw sewage released in the area.
The large magnitude of this operation must be a massive strain on the town and the detainees. We’re glad to see that officials are trying to speed up the process so that the detainees won’t have to wait long to see an immigration judge. AgriProcessors’ resume already includes animal abuse, raw sewage pollution and illegal workers, but for us, the meth lab is the icing on this awful cake. We can only hope that these recent events stimulate a positive change at AgriProcessors, but we won’t hold our breath.
Immigration Raid: Officials had Inside Source [KCRG]
Immigration Raid: Over 300 Face Charges [KCRG]
Agriprocessors [Wiki]
Feds: Drugs made at kosher meat plant [Jewish Telegraph Agency]
(Photo: Getty)
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I volunteer as an EMT in a city of 30,000. Half of our ambulance calls are for intoxicated illegal aliens. (They are intoxicated on the streets, often passed out. In our state we cannot bring intoxicated persons to jail, only to the hospital emergency room.) They have no ID on them. They do not speak english. They are often verbally and physically abusive to our squad members. (They often need to be restrained by the police in order to transport them.) My ambulance squad brings them to the hospital where they receive free care that is paid for by taxpayers in our state. We find out later from the hospital that they have housing and jobs. They just don’t pay taxes, follow laws or pay hospital bills.
They are eligible as illegal aliens for all kinds of welfare programs. (Because they work under the table, they technically make no money.) Because nobody will arrest them for being illegal, they have a screw you attitude. Laws do not apply to them. They live in overcrowded apartments so that they can send home all the money they make under the table. When they get in drunken fights with each other, we are often called in to provide care. I have yet to see anybody press charges, so nobody goes to jail.
From what I have seen, it’s great to be illegal in the USA. Except for tax paying citizens.
@tph: Most of the people here illegally are working poor thus qualify for aid. Then there is the drain on health care and public schools.
I really do think that in most of these cases the management and ownership of these companies need to be escorted in cuffs along with the illegal workers. This one and the Swift plant in MN are systematic, not the odd illegal worker.
@tph: When they work under the table, they pay no taxes. They get free medical care at the hospital ER. They send almost all of their money to their home country. They often work full time off the books and are on welfare. They are above the law. When arrested, if released on bail they simply disappear.
@mikey07840: Your story is probably a pretty common story. And with 30,000 people, I would say you have a much smaller problem then some of the large cities. These are the stories the left don’t want to hear. You get these people on welfare, and leave’em alone, it promises votes, and retains a need to keep increasing taxes.
@mikey07840: If they are identity thieving SSNs, chances are they are not working under the table. And if they aren’t working under the table, then the employer is at least paying their end of the payroll taxes, which means they are probably also withholding the employees end of the payroll taxes.
And just because somebody is intoxicated, non-anglophonic, and not carrying ID, does not mean that they are illegal immigrants. Have you followed up on all of these cases?
@teapartys_over: It’s a nice idea but it won’t happen. The companies that employ illegal workers are also big contributors to the GOP. It’s politically convenient to rail against the workers themselves but turn a blind eye towards the employers that hire them. Think of it as an underground guest worker program — every so often they raid someplace and deport a bunch of people to make it look like something is being done and placate conservative voters, then they make sure the company doesn’t face any real punishment so the campaign contributions and cheap labor can keep coming.
Ever seen the movie interpretation of Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation…if don’t understand, you should read the book and see the movie. It is almost like he knew all these things were going on years ago…o for a day when books like The Jungle and Silent Spring actually did change things.
@Orv: Yea I’m sure Bobs Lawn Service is sending the GOP billions. I’m guessing the companies that make enough money to donate enough money to buy politicians, are probably not the small local companies who are breaking these laws.
You’re on the wrong side of logic. And, if you were right, which you’re not, then you would be for attacking the companies, which would trickle down to the legal employees, and not go after the the people who actually broke the law in the first place. Some of the business owners don’t even know they’re illegal.
Any logic would be to go after both. But as far as buying off the GOP, that is retarded.
And if you were going to buy off a party, that deals mostly with these laws, wouldn’t you buy off the one that is the majority in congress? Who was that again?
Nice conspiracy theory mel.
@Bladefist: Also, why would you spend money to buy off the GOP to save money on labor? Wouldn’t it be cheaper just to pay Americans? More logic you’ll probably hate.
What surprises me is the lack of media attention to this event, given the relative importance that immigration has been given as an election-year political issue. CNN, Fox News, etc. have barely any mention of this event, a story which contains both a substantial issue and a ripe target for the type of sensationalism that most news outlets like to peddle. Why the lack of coverage?
@AtomicPlayboy: All 3 candidates relatively have the same belief system on illegal immigration. Attacking all 3 of them on that issue is pretty pointless.
@Bladefist: Yeah, I suppose you’re right on that one, and as such there’s no controversy to make the story interesting. Of course, we can’t expect any straight-up, objective journalism around the story, so it’ll just be ignored.
@Bladefist: I’m not talking about Bob’s Lawn Service. I’m mostly talking about industries like meat packing and construction that have powerful lobbies.
I single out the GOP because it’s always the Republican voters like you that complain loudest about this issue, without realizing their own party is playing the for fools. As we speak we’re spending millions of dollars on building a fence that the Republican congress pushed through, a fence that won’t do anything but enrich contractors. As long as the re are people willing to hire them the illegal immigrants will find a way to get here, fence or no fence. The real solution is to punish the corporations that hire these people, but that’s anathema to the GOP.
@Bladefist: But what about specifically the meat packing companies that are sending buses down to Mexico to pick up illegal immigrants for cheap labor? Surely they are knowingly breaking the law, and on a much larger scale than an individual who crosses the border illegally. Also, they’re lowering the wage pool for everyone who is here legally. It’s much easier to exploit workers when they have no right to be here in the first place. U.S. citizens tend to be real pests about being paid a fair wage and allowed bathroom breaks and stuff.
@teapartys_over: @Orv: Fully Agree we need to crack down on the companies ALSO. However, I do not believe in any GOP conspiracy theories. I do agree GOP is reluctant to go too hard on businesses, because then legal citizens get hurt. However, I am all for realistic fines and such to punish companies. But you cant go too far.
But they are reluctant due to option, not being bought out.
@Bladefist: It seems like you’re worried that companies not be punished too harshly because it could affect the company’s legal workers. But I feel that if they aren’t punished harshly enough, they will continue to see it as a cost of doing business and continue to use/import illegal workers. And that will continue to keep pay and working conditions poor for the legal workers, because they have no leverage (illegal workers will do more for less money and fewer safety requirements, etc.)
@mikey07840: While I don’t know your specific situation I have to question a few things… how do you know your patients are illegals? how do you know they are being paid under the table? Presumably all of the illegal workers at this plant were being paid “above board” – paying taxes, social security, etc. through a normal payroll process.
@wgrune: I’m glad you’re not in charge, because my dad would have ended up back in Greece and I would never have been born. INS lost his records, and he no longer had them since his adoptive father threw them out (good guy, that one; glad I never met him). He had to present his Navy records in order to (indirectly) prove he was a citizen.
There was never a meth lab there. If there was, the feds would have shut us down right away. It was listed in the affidavit that there was a supposed meth lab there. The only reason that was stated was so the feds could get a search warrant right away. If any of you know anything about the laws, government, and etc; you would have realized that right away. On this website it states that KCRG reported them finding a meth lab. If you go to KCRG’s website and read all of their articles on this subject, you will find that it does not state in one single article that a meth lab was found. I think this website needs to get their facts straight before reporting.
Guys, why don’t you just save some time and set-up a teleconference to argue?
@Bladefist:
Online equivalent of laughing at your own joke.
@wgrune: if a kid is brought over here illegally by his parents, is he breaking the law too? He is an “illegal” immigrant after all.
@mikey07840: Clearly you are a misinformed bigot. Most illegal and legal immigrants have a lower rate of crime than the general population (first generation only). They do pay taxes if they are working and Social Security and Medicare. And us legals get that money for Social Security and Medicare because they will never be eligible for those payments. Illegal immigrants are actually helping keep Social Security and Medicare much more solvent than it would be with out them. And they are not eligible for welfare or any such benefits. You are just plain wrong but then bigotry is a form of ignorance.
@Bladefist: See above bigot #2.
@mikelotus: You must be an Obama supporter. Anyone who disagree with something that deals with non-white people, means you’re a bigot.
@Bladefist: Lies like “You get these people on welfare, and leave’em alone, it promises votes, and retains a need to keep increasing taxes.” shows that you are a bigot. Like “welfare queens.” Illegal immigrants are not, have not and do not receive welfare. Disagree is fine. Lying shows you are a bigot.
@mikelotus: You always hate what you dont understand?
@Bladefist: “But if we know they’re illegal, deport’em. Don’t waste tax dollars on any more then gas down to Mexico.”
I’m sure you recognize that not all illegal immigrants are from Mexico.
@BigElectricCat: Of Course. And all the Illegals should be deported equally.
@Bladefist: To where, precisely? You appear to be suggesting that all illegals be deported to Mexico, regardless of their country of origin. Perhaps you would oblige me by clarifying your position.
I’m sure I needn’t bring up the case of the mentally ill young man from California who was forcibly deported to Mexico last year — even though he was a US citizen.
@BigElectricCat: Deported to your original country.
@Bladefist: And if they don’t feel like telling ICE where it is? Then what?
Very Interesting. Looks like just about everyone here realy believes this story. They probably also had “weapons of mass destruction” stockpiled in a corner of the warehouse.