July 11, 2008

Federal, state investigations of Agriprocessors (maybe the left will stop playing games)

Neither Alternet nor New America Media are reputable sources, but, for what it's worth, Wendy Feliz Sefsaf of NAM offers "Meat-Packing Giant Raided by ICE Faces Criminal Investigation" (alternet.org/immigration/91182). Discussing the Agriprocessors raid from May, she says:

No fewer than seven federal and state agencies are coordinating on investigations of Agriprocessors.

The Iowa Division of Labor Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Equal Employment and Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Iowa Attorney General's Office are all either conducting or cooperating on investigations into the plant.

Doris Meissner, a former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute said, "From everything we hear about this, it sounds like the federal government is marshalling all of the authorities that it has in order to bring the broadest set of charges -- and that's what it should be doing. It's a positive sign that they seem to be working with the state attorney general...

...According to lawyers in the case and agency representatives, there are likely to be civil charges related to immigration, wage enforcement, safety and other labor issues which usually result in fines, however, criminal charges related to immigration, child labor and sexual harassment and assault are far more serious and potentially wide reaching. Anyone with "knowledge or intent" of child laborers for instance is subject to criminal prosecution -- in theory this could include management, human resources representatives and owners alike...

One of the dodges some on the left use to support illegal immigration is to demand that those who employ illegal aliens should be arrested. They want the illegal aliens themselves to stay in the U.S. for various reasons. What they fail to understand (or state) is that by blocking enforcement against illegal aliens that keeps a pool of illegal labor in the U.S., and they'll just go to work for someone else. But, hopefully if Agriprocessors' management is actually prosecuted they'll stop trying that dodge at least temporarily.

Posted to Immigration2008a at July 11, 2008 06:17 PM