Stop the Raids and Police State Measures• No One is Illegal: An Election Demand!•Postville Rally Against the Raids and Deportations
• Labor Suit Filed Against United Airlines for Violation of Labor Laws
• ICE Raids Continue to Terrorize Communities
• Bush Orders Companies to Submit to “E-Verify”
• Live Exercise for Police State Measures
• Court Interpreter Denounces Criminalization of Postville WorkersHow a U.S. Citizen Became UndocumentedUndocumented Workers Provide $600 Billion to Social Security
Stop the Raids and Police State Measures
No One is Illegal: An Election Demand!
Across the country, the government has continued its terrorism and raids against immigrant communities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has carried out raids recently in California, Texas and Rhode Island, detaining hundreds of workers. This follows large raids in Postville, Iowa and elsewhere in May, involving more than 1,000 workers. Postville was especially used to implement the current government plan to impose criminal charges on immigrants, rather than simply deporting them for civil violation of immigration law. Now, instead of deporting workers without documentation, the workers are being criminally charged, often with false charges of “identity theft,” and forced to make guilty pleas. Even the lawyers and judges involved know the workers are not guilty. They too are forced to submit to government measures designed to get all used to fascism (see Report from Court Interpreter below).
The attacks on immigrant workers are being utilized to prepare the grounds for attacks on all workers and indeed everyone. They are being used for live exercises by the Office of the President using federal policing agencies. These exercises force local police agencies, like county sheriffs, to submit to the command of ICE and join in terrorizing their own communities. The criminal charges get the lawyers, judges, interpreters and other legal professionals involved, to get used to arbitrary police state arrangements and participate in them. At Postville these arrangements included binding and shackling the workers as though they were dangerous criminals and processing them through the courts ten at a time. It included imposing the same guilty plea deal on all the workers, regardless of their individual situation, and requiring them to take the deal in seven days or stay in jail indefinitely. Immigration lawyers were not permitted to participate. Using this method of criminal charges, with rapid arraignments, hearings, fixed plea deals with threats of indefinite detention, the lawyers and judges are all forced to submit.
The situation being imposed is similar to the lawlessness of Guantánamo — where the Office of the President dictates who will be rounded up and detained, imposes false charges, and then forces the lawyers and judges involved to put a stamp of “legality” on what they — and the world — knows are crimes against humanity.
The raids and criminal charges are also being used to terrorize whole communities, splitting families, while also striving to stir up antagonisms among the workers. Supposedly, the problems of the economy are the result of workers working!
The economy is going through crisis because the U.S. imperialist system is at odds with modern social production. The tiny handful of owners of the largest monopolies seize control of the wealth that is socially produced by the workers. They refuse to have any restrictions on this theft. The monopolies are demanding that workers here and abroad accept ever-lower wages and working conditions to increase the monopolies’ claim on the wealth of the social economy. They ensure that government turns over more and more of the wealth. There are massive cuts to social programs and brutal attacks on rights to education and healthcare, all in the name of making the U.S. king of the world. The pressure for the most profits the most quickly is not only wrecking the economy in the U.S., it is also wrecking the economies of the countries abroad, forcing increased migration. The desperation imposed on Mexico and Central America is such that some of the Guatemalan workers detained at Postville literally walked all the way to the U.S. in search of work. And it is threatening war, against Iran and any who challenge U.S. empire.
Far from solving any problem, the raids, criminalization and live exercises using police state arrangements prepare the grounds for submission to this fascism and war of U.S. imperialism. We say no! Stop the Raids and Deportations! Reject Police State Measures! No to Imperialist War!
The starting point for solutions is defending the rights of the workers — the rights of the undocumented and documented, of workers here and abroad. For workers here, these include the right to a livelihood at U.S. standards and the right of all undocumented workers to immediate legalization. It includes the right to protest, organize and defend our communities. It includes the right speedy trials for actual crimes and the representation required for the case involved, whether it be immigration lawyers, labor lawyers, etc. For workers abroad it means the right to decide their own affairs without imperialist interference and the right not to migrate and have a secure livelihood in their home countries. To assist this, the U.S. should immediately cancel all debts of these countries and pay reparations for crimes against the peoples. It should bring All U.S. Troops Home Now! This contributes to world peace and also provides hundreds of billions in funds for social programs at home and reparations abroad — which also contributes to peace and lessening the necessity for migration on such a massive scale.
Our election demand to both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama is to start with the stand that No One is Illegal and organize to provide the rights of the workers with a guarantee. That is the responsibility of a modern government.
Stop Funding War and Repression! Fund Reparations Abroad and Social Program at Home! Defend the Rights of All! No One is Illegal!
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Rhode Islanders Say Stop the Raids!
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the courthouse in Providence, Rhode Island, more than 100 people immediately came out to denounce the government and support the workers. The people detained by ICE worked as janitors and on maintenance crews for the courthouse. The government cleaning contractor involved had been targeted by workers and organizers for refusing to pay the workers their wages. Instead of arresting the contractor, ICE raided the courthouse and, as activists report, kidnapped at least 31 people.
While ICE expected no opposition, organizers already had a phone tree in place to oppose raids. Their fast action brought out dozens of people who attempted to block the ICE vans and secure the release of the workers. Young people from 6 to 16 led the chants and set the tone. According to activists, three people were released and possibly eight more. Everyone is working together to defend the rights of the immigrant workers and demand: Stop the Raids and Deportations![TOP]
ICE Is Not Kosher! Boycott AgriProcessors
Postville Rally Against the Raids and Deportations
Immigration reform advocates and religious leaders from across the Midwest are planning a rally in northeast Iowa nearly two months after a raid at a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville ended in nearly 400 arrests.
The rally, scheduled for July 27, is being organized by Jewish and Catholic groups and immigration rights activists from Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. It is expected to draw hundreds of people to the town of about 2,200 residents. Organizers are denouncing the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant and the government refusal to legalize all undocumented workers. More than 175 families in Postville, including more than 500 children, saw their mothers and fathers jailed and in many cases now face a situation with no one in the family still working. While the government is leaving these families to fend for themselves, the Postville community and many activists are joining in their defense, organizing rallies and providing funds.
Activists are also opposing the criminalization of the few workers, mainly women, which the government did release. These women are sole caregivers for young children. They were released, but forced to wear ankle bracelets that monitor their movement. Most have also been unable to find work.
The government has yet to act on the well-known and documented labor law violations at the plant, including use of child labor, paying below minimum wages, health and safety violations and more. The plant owners have not been criminally charged and to date have faced only a minor fine of about seven thousand dollars.
The groups planning the Immigration reform rally in Postville include St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville, Jewish Community Action of St. Paul, Minnesota, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs of Chicago and many other rights activists. At the rally, they plan to have testimony from people directly affected by the raid, as well as discussion about immigration reform and workers' rights.
"This is a call for justice,” Sister Mary McCauley with St. Bridget's Catholic Church said in a statement. "This is a call to stand in solidarity with our Hispanic brothers and sisters." St. Bridget’s provided sanctuary on the day of the raids, where hundreds came to protect their families. The church has continued to play an important role in defending the rights of the workers and their families.
BOYCOTT AgriProcessors kosher foods!
DONATE to the families affected by the raids!
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Monopolies Abuse Undocumented Workers
Labor Suit Filed Against United Airlines for Violation of Labor Laws
In the lawsuit filed July 17 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, by the Working Hands Legal Clinic, the following companies are being targeted for violating the workers’ basic labor rights while using temporary staffing workers to reap enormous savings on their labor costs: United Airlines, Alitalia, Singapore Airlines, Gate Gourmet, Inc., Air Menzies International, Inc., Swissport Cargo Services, Inc., J.D. Norman Industries, Inc., APEX Plastic Finishing Company, and Ideal Staffing Solutions, Inc. The temporary staffing workers are owed thousands of hours in unpaid wages and overtime compensation.
On November 7, 2007, Cook County, Illinois sheriffs and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a massive arrest of immigrant temporary staffing workers hired to work in Chicago’s O’Hare airport, the nation’s busiest facility. The raid deployed hundreds of law enforcement personnel who banged on doors and swept up dozens of immigrant workers throughout the town of Bensenville, Illinois. Cook County prosecutors then charged the workers with using false identification badges to enter the Airport. ICE framed the enforcement activity as securing the airports from terrorist activity.
An investigation by the Mexican Consulate's Protection Division and the workers' attorneys revealed that these workers were more victims of exploitation than criminals. The companies, based primarily at O’Hare Airport, brought the workers in using an obscure Bensenville temporary personnel outfit, Ideal Staffing Solutions, Inc. In addition, the staffing agency and its clients committed numerous violations of Illinois and Federal law. Specifically, the suit alleges the following violations:
• Failure to pay overtime through a variety of schemes in violation of Illinois Minimum Wage Act, Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, and Fair Labor Standards Act;
• Failure to pay the Illinois and Federal minimum wages in violation of Illinois Minimum Wage Act, Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, and Fair Labor Standards Act;
• Failure to pay workers for all the hours worked in violation of Illinois Wage Collection Act and Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act;
• Failure to pay workers the required hourly minimum when they were called in to work and then sent home in violation of the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act; and,
• Failure to provide workers with proper employment notices, wage payment documents, work verification tickets in violation of the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act.
“Our investigation reveals that these companies brought these workers into the airport to save money on labor costs in reckless disregard for national security. Many of the workers did not even know where they were going to work,” according to Tim Bell, Executive Director, Chicago Workers’ Collaborative. “Ideal Staffing facilitated the exploitation while United Airlines and others maximized their profits.”
In today’s immigration enforcement climate, major U.S. companies commonly attempt to shield themselves from liability by using staffing agencies as primary employers in order to benefit from low-cost immigrant labor. This subcontracting scheme drives immigrants further into the shadows where violations of their basic labor rights can go undetected.
According to the Illinois Department of Labor, more than 300,000 workers labor in temp agencies throughout the state. Today’s action calls out each of the O’Hare companies from behind the subcontractor’s screen. “While these companies may try to shield themselves by using a temp agency, the law is clear that all of these companies are joint employers and liable for these violations,” said the workers’ attorney.
In order to profit from the labor, the companies needed a way to get the workers into the airport. Ideal Staffing provided false badges to the workers that enabled them to cook the food, load and unload the planes and perform all the other work needed by these companies at sub minimum wages. Upon interviewing the workers the Mexican Consulate General’s Protection staff found that workers believed these badges were legitimate and were unaware that they were breaking any laws. Nevertheless, the Cook County Sheriff's Department and ICE have targeted their enforcement against the day labor workers. Until today, powerful airport companies such as United Airlines, Alitalia and Swissport who profited from these immigrants labor, have not owned up to their complicity or their responsibility.
The labor violations at O’Hare are symptomatic of an increasingly evident trend in our country: Immigration enforcement drives exploitation. As is now being revealed in the aftermath of the Postville, Iowa raid, and major companies that profit from immigrant labor are perpetrating wide scale violations of human rights. Our country does not need more taxpayer resources invested in raids that criminalize immigrant workers but absolutely does need real resources dedicated to the enforcement of our nation’s labor laws.
For more information contact:
Jed Untereker, Attorney, W: 312.795.9115 C: 773.972.5830 jntereker@workers-law.org;
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Protests Defend Rights
ICE Raids Continue to Terrorize Communities
The federal government has continued its unjust raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) against workers guilty of no crime. Among the more recent raids have been:
• On July 15, ICE raided six Rhode Island courthouses, arresting at least 30 people working as janitors and maintenance crews. A few weeks earlier, on June 11 and 12, ICE conducted massive raids in Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island and arrested 42 people. Both raids were immediately protested.
• On July 1, ICE detained 45 workers in a raid at an Annapolis, Maryland painting contractor. More than 100 ICE agents and county sheriffs were used. There were no charges against the company.
• On June 26, 160 workers were arrested at a Houston, Texas plant following an ICE raid. Seventy percent of the workers were women, many of them with ten years seniority at the plant. It was one of the largest raids ever in Houston, and the second in two months. More than 200 agents were used. A demonstration was organized to reject the raids and defend rights.
• On June 9, 283 workers were fired after Sun Valley Floral Farms in northern California received a letter from ICE saying the workers had “no-match” letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA). A letter from ICE often precedes a massive raid, so this company fired the workers instead — without verification of the “no-match” letters. A no-match letter means the name and social security number provided by the employer for the worker do not match, according to SSA records. These records, according to SSA itself, are notoriously wrong, with millions of known errors. As well, it is often the monopoly employers who provide workers with the identification, but they are not charged. A week after these mass firings without cause, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that 33 custodians fired from their jobs in 2003 as a result of “no-match” letters were wrongfully terminated. The court ruled such letters “did not automatically mean that the employee is undocumented or lacks proper work authorization.” This was the first federal appeals court in the country to rule on the “no-match” letters.[TOP]
Broad Attack on Workers
Bush Orders Companies to Submit to “E-Verify”
In June, using an executive order, President George W. Bush ordered all companies doing business with the federal government to submit to the governments “E-Verify” program. “E-Verify,” or electronic verification, is part of the government’s police-state measures, using identification requirements as the basis for raids and broad attacks against all workers. The program uses the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) records, which are notoriously wrong. The government’s own Social Security Inspector General found 17.8 million mistakes in records for citizens and documented immigrants. Simply moving or getting married, or misspellings, or missing a “Jr.” are all means for the records to be wrong. Nonetheless, it is these records that are used.
Whenever the SSA claims that there is “no-match” between the name given by the employer and the social security number for that name, the federal government goes into action. The action taken is not against the employer, but against the worker with the “no-match.” Mass raids by ICE are conducted and dozens and even hundreds of workers are detained and criminalized.
The actions are often taken without any government or employer effort to verify that the SSA “no-match” claim is accurate. Even when it is, there is commonly no fraud or identity theft involved, no crime as the government claims, but just an individual trying to secure work — and a government that refuses to legalize all undocumented workers.
For the E-Verify program, employers are to submit names and social security numbers and the government rapidly “verifies” that they match. Up until now, participation of private firms has been voluntary, while government agencies have had to comply. But the Bush order now requires the private companies, including government sub-contractors, to comply.
The program is not only a mechanism to terrorize and attack workers. Given that the government cannot actually enforce the order for the more than 200,000 federal contractors involved, it will no doubt be arbitrarily used as a means for the government to target and punish particular companies, and favor others. Most think, for example, that government sub-contractors like Blackwater and Haliburton will not be forced to comply.[TOP]
Live Exercise for Police State Measures
In the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, 390 workers were arrested: 314 men and 76 women. There were 290 Guatemalans, 93 Mexicans, four Ukrainians, and three Israelis who did not go to court. Only five of the 390 originally arrested had any kind of prior criminal record. In all, 306 were held for prosecution. Many of the workers had lived in Postville and worked at the plant for many years.
The charge used by the government of “aggravated identity theft” was completely unfounded. The crime requires that the person charged, “Knowingly uses a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit any unlawful activity or felony.” Getting work is not an “unlawful activity.” The workers involved were given social security numbers by the plant owners — who have not been charged and jailed.
Both the raid and the court process were a live exercise in police state measures being imposed by the federal government. These measures involve “fast-tracking” those detained using “mass processing” of 10 people at a time with coerced guilty pleas. Very limited court representation was permitted, by appointed lawyers unfamiliar with the law at hand, in this case immigration law. The lawyers had on average 17 clients, spread at different jails across the state, limited access to them and only seven days to accept or reject the same guilty plea. The plea, using the false charge of identity theft, was imposed on all the workers, regardless of their particular circumstances.
The judges involved were forced to play a role of validating the illegal government actions and impose sentencing on people guilty of no crime. Judges involved in the Postville case knew the workers were not guilty, but were forced to comply with the government’s mass hearings and jailings. This was done through government use of a “plea agreement” method that essentially requires the judge to accept the plea. In the Postville case, out of 297 charged, 270 went to jail.
The government raid itself was also done on a fraudulent basis. The ICE Search Warrant Application said ICE had received social security "no match" information for 737 employees, including 147 using numbers confirmed by the Social Security Administration as invalid (never issued to a person) and 590 using valid social security numbers (SSNs), "however the numbers did not match the name of the employee reported by Agriprocessors..."
It is common for employers to provide identity documents to workers, using false information, as was the case in this instance. The ICE search showed that 983 workers at Agriprocessors had non-matching SSNs. But, according to ICE, their search for identity theft revealed only one person assigned one of the social security numbers used by an employee of Agriprocessors had reported his/her identity being stolen. That is, out of 983, only 1 number (0.1 percent) happened to coincide by chance with a reported identity theft. The charge of identity theft was clearly unfounded and the raid carried out not to protect anyone, but to terrorize the community and to impose the government police state measures on lawyers, local police and officials and judges alike.
ICE was created as "the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)" with "broad law enforcement powers and authorities for enforcing more than 400 federal statutes." In addition, according to ICE, “ICE's team of attorneys constitutes the largest legal program in DHS, with more than 750 attorneys to support the ICE mission in the administrative and federal courts. ICE attorneys have also participated in temporary assignments to the Department of Justice as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys spearheading criminal prosecutions of individuals.” Translation: under the guise of interagency cooperation, ICE prosecutors have infiltrated the judicial branch. They are among the architects that spearheaded the well crafted "fast-tracking" scheme used in Postville, with its bogus charges, forced guilty pleas, and lawyers and judges forced to accept everyone chained and shackled and mass processed into jail. The government, lawyers, interpreters, judges, all knew the workers were not guilty, yet were forced to submit.
In 2007, ICE grew by 10 percent, hiring 1,600 employees, including more than 450 new deportation officers, 700 immigration enforcement agents, and 180 new attorneys. At least 85 percent of the new hires are directly allocated to immigration enforcement. The agency is also diverting resources earmarked for disaster relief to criminalizing immigrants. The 23 trailers used in the Postville "fast-tracking" operation were part of the Mobile Continuity of Operations Emergency Response Pilot Project. The project entails the deployment of a “fleet of trailers outfitted with emergency supplies, pre-positioned at ICE locations nationwide for ready deployment in the event of a nearby emergency situation.” Given the Postville example, and the plan by government to demand proof of citizenship during hurricane evacuations, it is clear the government is putting in place the policing forces and equipment necessary for mass detentions of people guilty of no crime. As well, use of the terminology “Continuity of Operations,” for ICE and the courts is part of plans by the office of the president to suspend government operations and put in place a “Continuity of Government” arrangement, whereby the president is the sole decider and Congress and the courts have at best a consultative role and perhaps no role at all.
The brutal and on-going ICE raids and jailings terrorize the workers, families and their communities. They are being used as live exercises for all the policing agencies involved, with local sheriffs and police forced to submit to federal forces, like ICE.
As important, they are being used to get all elements of the judiciary — judges, lawyers, court interpreters, clerks — to accept such railroading and give it the stamp of “legality.” The executive dictates the raids, imposes false charges and plea agreements, chains and shackles men and women by the hundreds, and requires judges and legal professionals to support it.
Undocumented workers are the focus for these government crimes at present — but everyone faces this danger. This can be seen in the fact that the government is putting in place requirements for all workers to have government issued biometric identification and has already required those on Medicaid and Medicare to have such ID to receive benefits. Clearly, failure to have such ID and government claims of ID fraud are among the false charges that can and will be used against everyone.[TOP]
Fast-Tracking and Mass Jailing of Innocent Workers
Court Interpreter Denounces Criminalization of Postville Workers
On Monday, May 12, 2008, at 10am, in an operation involving some 900 agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed a raid of Agriprocessors Inc, the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant located in the town of Postville, Iowa. The raid, officials boasted, was "the largest single-site operation of its kind in American history." At that same hour, 26 federally certified interpreters from all over the country were en route to the small neighboring city of Waterloo, Iowa, having no idea what their mission was about.
The investigation had started more than a year earlier. Raid preparations had begun in December. The Clerk's Office of the U.S. District Court had contracted the interpreters a month ahead, but was not at liberty to tell us the whole truth, lest the impending raid be compromised. The operation was led by ICE, which belongs to the executive branch, whereas the U.S. District Court, belonging to the judicial branch, had to formulate its own official reason for participating. Accordingly, the Court had to move for two weeks to a remote location as part of a "Continuity of Operation Exercise" in case they were ever disrupted by an emergency, which in Iowa is likely to be a tornado or flood. That is what we were told, but, frankly, I was not prepared for a disaster of such a different kind, one that was entirely man-made.
We were sent to the heavily guarded National Cattle Congress (NCC) compound, went through security, and gathered inside the retro "Electric Park Ballroom" where a makeshift court had been set up. The Clerk of Court, who coordinated the interpreters, said: "Have you seen the news? There was an immigration raid yesterday at 10am. They have some 400 detainees here. We'll be working late conducting initial appearances for the next few days." Only five of the 390 originally arrested had any kind of prior criminal record. The rest had been living in Postville and working at Agriprocessors, many for 5-10 years.
The NCC is a 60-acre cattle fairground that had been transformed into a sort of concentration camp or detention center. Fenced in behind the ballroom / courtroom were 23 trailers from federal authorities, including two set up as sentencing courts; various Homeland Security buses and an "incident response" truck; scores of ICE agents and U.S. Marshals; and in the background two large buildings: a pavilion where agents and prosecutors had established a command center; and a gymnasium filled with tight rows of cots where some 300 male detainees were kept, the women being housed in county jails. Later the NCC board complained to the local newspaper that they had been "misled" by the government when they leased the grounds purportedly for Homeland Security training.
Then began the saddest procession I have ever witnessed, which the public would never see, because cameras were not allowed past the perimeter of the compound. Driven single-file in groups of 10, shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, chains dragging as they shuffled through, the slaughterhouse workers were brought in for arraignment, sat and listened through headsets to the interpreted initial appearance, before marching out again to be bused to different county jails, only to make room for the next row of 10. They appeared to be mostly illiterate Guatemalan peasants with Mayan last names, some in tears; others with faces of worry, and fear.
It dawned on me that, aside from their nationality, which was imposed on their people in the 19th century, they too were Native Americans, in shackles. They stood out in stark racial contrast with the rest of us as they started their slow penguin march across the makeshift court. They had all been coerced into waiving their right to be indicted by a grand jury and accepted instead an information or simple charging document by the U.S. Attorney, hoping to be quickly deported since they had families to support back home. Instead they were criminally charged with "aggravated identity theft" and "Social Security fraud." charges they did not understand and, frankly, neither could I. […]
Of Agriprocessors' 968 current employees, about 75 percent were undocumented immigrants. There were 697 arrest warrants, but late-shift workers had not arrived, so "only" 390 were arrested: 314 men and 76 women; 290 Guatemalans, 93 Mexicans, four Ukrainians, and three Israelis who were not seen in court. Fifty-six mothers with unattended children, a few people with medical reasons, and 12 juveniles were temporarily released with ankle monitors or directly turned over for deportation. In all, 306 were held for prosecution.
Postville, Iowa (pop. 2,273), where nearly half the people worked at Agriprocessors, had lost 1/3 of its population by Tuesday morning. Businesses were empty, amid looming concerns that if the plant closed it would become a ghost town. Beside those arrested, many had fled the town in fear. Several families had taken refuge at St. Bridget's Catholic Church, terrified, sleeping on pews and refusing to leave for days. Volunteers from the community served food and organized activities for the children. At the local high school, only three of the 15 Latino students came back on Tuesday, while at the elementary and middle school, 120 of the 363 children were absent. In the following days the principal went around town on the school bus and gathered 70 students after convincing the parents to let them come back to school; 50 remained unaccounted for.
Some non-immigrant parents complained that their children were traumatized by the sudden disappearance of so many of their school friends. The principal reported the same reaction in the classrooms, saying that for the children it was as if ten of their classmates had suddenly died. Counselors were brought in. Many children were having nightmares that their parents would also be taken away. The superintendant said the school district's future was unclear: "This literally blew our town away." In some cases both parents were picked up and small children were left behind for up to 72 hours. Typically, the mother would be released "on humanitarian grounds" with an ankle GPS monitor, pending prosecution and deportation, while the husband took first turn in serving his prison sentence. Meanwhile the mother would have no income and could not work to provide for her children. Some of the children were born in the U.S. and are citizens. Sometimes one parent was a deportable alien while the other was not. "Hundreds of families were torn apart by this raid," said a Catholic nun. "The humanitarian impact of this raid is obvious to anyone in Postville. The economic impact will soon be evident." There were many courageous actions and expressions of humanitarian concern by townspeople. […] Nothing could have prepared me for the prospect of helping our government put hundreds of innocent people in jail.
Wednesday, May 14, our second day in court, was to be a long one. Through the day, the procession continued, ten by ten, hour after hour, the same charges, the same recitation from the magistrates, the same faces, chains and shackles, on the defendants. There was little to remind us that they were actually 306 individuals, except that occasionally, as though to break the monotony, one would dare to speak for the others and beg to be deported quickly so that they could feed their families back home. Later in the day three groups of women were brought, shackled in the same manner. Several men and women were weeping and two women were particularly grief stricken… In every instance, detainees who cried did so for their children, never for themselves.
The next day we started early, at 6:45am. We were told that we had to finish the hearings by 10am. Thus far the work had oddly resembled a judicial assembly line where the meat packers were mass processed. …[Later that morning] an attorney pointed out the reason why the prosecution wanted to finish arraignments by 10am Thursday: according to the writ of habeas corpus they had 72 hours from Monday's raid to charge the prisoners or release them for deportation (only a handful would be so lucky). The right of habeas corpus, but of course! It dawned on me that we were paid overtime, adding hours to the day, in a mad rush to abridge habeas corpus, only to help put more workers in jail.
Rights Denied, Guilty Pleas Coerced, Judges Blocked
Then came my first jail interview. The purpose was for the attorney to explain the uniform Plea Agreement that the government was offering. The explanation, which we repeated over and over to each client, went like this: There are three possibilities. If you plead guilty to the charge of "knowingly using a false Social Security number," the government will withdraw the heavier charge of "aggravated identity theft," and you will serve 5 months in jail, be deported without a hearing, and placed on supervised release for 3 years. If you plead not guilty, you could wait in jail 6 to 8 months for a trial (without right of bail since you are on an immigration detainer). Even if you win at trial, you will still be deported, and could end up waiting longer in jail than if you just pled guilty. You would also risk losing at trial and receiving a 2-year minimum sentence, before being deported. Some clients understood their "options" better than others.
That first interview, though, took three hours. The client, a Guatemalan peasant, spent most of that time weeping at our table, in a corner of the crowded jailhouse visiting room. How did he come here from Guatemala? "I walked." What? "I walked for a month and ten days until I crossed the river." We understood immediately how desperate his family's situation was. He crossed alone, met other immigrants, and hitched a truck ride to Dallas, then Postville, where he heard there was sure work. He slept in an apartment hallway with other immigrants until employed. "The Good Lord knows I was just working and not doing anyone any harm," he said.
This man, like many others, was in fact not guilty. "Knowingly" and "intent" are necessary elements of the charges, but most of the clients we interviewed did not even know what a Social Security number was or what purpose it served. This worker simply had the papers filled out for him at the plant, since he could not read or write Spanish, let alone English. [Plant owners have not been criminally charged and the plant continues to operate.] But the lawyer still had to advise him that pleading guilty was in his best interest. "You all do and undo," he said. "So you can do whatever you want with me." […]
We will never know how many of the 293 Guatemalans had legitimate asylum claims for fear of persecution, back in a country stigmatized by one of the worst human rights situations in the hemisphere, a by-product of the U.S.-backed Contra wars. For three decades, [U.S. backed and organized] anti-insurgent government death squads have ravaged the countryside, killing tens of thousands and displacing almost two million peasants. We have ignored the many root causes of immigration.
Another client, a young Mexican, had an altogether different case. He had worked at the plant for ten years and had two American born daughters, a 2-year-old and a newborn. He had a good case with Immigration for an adjustment of status which would allow him to stay. But if he took the Plea Agreement, he would lose that chance and face deportation as a felon convicted of a crime of "moral turpitude." On the other hand, if he pled "not guilty" he had to wait several months in jail for trial, and risk getting a 2-year sentence. After an agonizing decision, he concluded that he had to take the 5-month deal and deportation, because as he put it, "I cannot be away from my children for so long." His case was complicated; it needed research in immigration law, a change in the Plea Agreement, and, above all, more time.
There were other similar cases in court that week. I remember reading that immigration lawyers were alarmed that the detainees were being rushed into a plea without adequate consultation on the immigration consequences. Even the criminal defense attorneys had limited opportunity to meet with clients and little privacy due to the constant presence of agents. There were 17 cases for each attorney, and the Plea offer was only good for 7 days. In addition, criminal attorneys are not familiar with immigration work and vice versa, but had to make do since immigration lawyers were denied access to these criminal proceedings.
In addition, the prosecutors would not accept any changes to the Plea Agreement. In fact, some lawyers, seeing that many of their clients were not guilty, requested an Alford plea, whereby defendants can plead guilty in order to accept the prosecution's offer, but without having to lie under oath and admit to something they did not do. That would not change the 5-month sentence, but at least it preserves the person's integrity and dignity. The proposal was rejected. Of course, if they allowed Alford pleas to go on public record, the incongruence of the charges would be exposed and find its way into the media. Officially, the ICE prosecutors said the Plea Agreement was directed from the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., that they were not authorized to change it locally, and that the DOJ would not make any case-by-case exceptions when a large number of defendants are being "fast-tracked." […]
By handing down the inflated charge of "aggravated identity theft," which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years in prison, the government forced the defendants into pleading guilty to the lesser charge and accepting 5 months in jail. Clearly, without the inflated charge, the government had no bargaining leverage, because the lesser charge by itself, using a false Social Security number, carries only a discretionary sentence of 0-6 months. The judges would be free to impose sentence within those guidelines, depending on the circumstances of each case and any prior record. Virtually all the defendants would have received only probation and been immediately deported.
The government's offer at the higher end of the guidelines (one month shy of the maximum sentence) was indeed no bargain. What is worse, the inflated charge, via the binding 11(C)(1)(c) Plea Agreement, reduced the judges to mere bureaucrats, pronouncing the same litany over and over for the record in order to legalize the proceedings, but having absolutely no discretion or decision-making power. As a citizen, I want our judges to administer justice, not a federal agency. When the executive branch forces the hand of the judiciary, the result is abuse of power and arbitrariness.
No way would a grand jury find probable cause of identity theft here. But with the promise of faster deportation, their ignorance of the legal system, and the limited opportunity to consult with counsel before arraignment, all the workers, without exception, were led to waive their 5th Amendment right to grand jury indictment on felony charges. Waiting for a grand jury meant months in jail on an immigration detainer, without the possibility of bail. So the attorneys could not recommend it as a defense strategy. Similarly, defendants have the right to a status hearing before a judge, to determine probable cause, within ten days of arraignment, but their Plea Agreement offer from the government was only good for seven days. Passing it up meant risking 2 years in jail.
As a result, the frivolous charge of identity theft was assured never to undergo the judicial test of probable cause. Not only were defendants and judges bound to accept the Plea Agreement, there was also absolutely no defense strategy available to counsel. Once the inflated charge was handed down, all the pieces fell into place like a row of dominoes. Even the court was banking on it when it agreed to participate, because if a good number of defendants asked for a grand jury or trial, the system would be overwhelmed. In short, "fast-tracking" had worked like a dream.
It is no secret that the Postville ICE raid was a pilot operation, to be replicated elsewhere, with kinks ironed out after lessons learned. Next time, "fast-tracking" will be even more relentless. Never before has immigration been criminalized in this fashion. It is no longer enough to deport people: we first have to put them in chains.[TOP]
How a U.S. Citizen Became Undocumented
I am African-American and my family moved to California almost a hundred years ago after a lynching took place outside their hometown in Kentucky. I am also undocumented, or in the current anti-immigrant vernacular, "illegal." I do not have the necessary documents to prove my identity. Therefore, within four years, I will not be able to vote, have access to social services, or receive state identification to travel. Let's start from the beginning:
In May 2006, I lost my passport and Social Security card at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (I do not have a driver's license because of a visual disability). When I went home to Chicago, I learned that in order to receive a state identification card, I needed to obtain a certified copy of my birth certificate, which allows me to apply for a Social Security Card to replace my passport.
Later in the week I contacted the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and was told that in order to receive my birth certificate, I needed to present a copy of my passport, or driver's license, to verify I was, in actuality, Eric K. Ward. Since it was obvious, after twenty minutes of discussion, that I did not own a driver's license, a passport, or a social security card, they told me to fill out the proper forms in front of a notary public in Chicago.
I quickly opened the phone book and had a co-worker drive me to a notary public. But when I got there, the notary public said I needed a passport, social security card, or driver's license to receive an official notary seal. Lucky for me (when I am in a pinch) I can become very persuasive. And since I had a number of newspaper articles with photos documenting my identity, the notary public accepted my articles with somewhat dubious satisfaction. Next, before anyone could change their minds, I walked next door to the Post Office and happily mailed my documents to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and went on with my life. Four weeks later my birth certificate arrived! But when I arrived at the Post Office to pick it up, the attendant asked me to produce a passport, driver's license and, most ironically, a copy of my birth certificate to obtain my birth certificate. After waiting an hour and pleading with two supervisors, I am proud to say that I now possess a certified birth certificate!
I wish I could say everything went smoothly from this point on, but the adventure only began and came to a screeching halt within a week. A few days later I headed to the Social Security Administration to obtain a replacement social security card. But when I got there, the Social Security Administration said I needed more than just a copy of my birth certificate. They said I also needed a passport, driver's license, or state identification card to prove my identity. But since I went to the Social Security Administration to obtain a new copy of my social security card so I could get a new passport, the Social Security Administration did not know what to do with me. So, they told me to head across town to the Illinois Secretary of State's office to get my social security card. But when I arrived, the Illinois Secretary of State's office said I needed my social security card to obtain any official document to prove my identity.
Now I am stuck in a Catch-22 and I am not alone in this predicament. Almost nine percent of African Americans (18 or older) are unable to document their citizenship. Roughly 2 million African Americans, eleven million native born citizens, and nearly twice as many low income Americans than citizens with higher incomes do not have a social security card, driver's licenses, passport, birth certificate or proof of naturalization.
In 1950, Sam Shapiro, now Emeritus Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, conducted a case study for the journal Population Studies, and also found that, due to segregation barring black children from being born in white hospitals, one-fifth of African Americans born between 1939-40 were never issued birth certificates.
When you correlate Shapiro's figures to the 2000 U.S. Census Data on African American Population by Age, Shapiro's figures show that by 2010, nearly half-a-million elderly African Americans born before 1941 may loose their right to vote and access to federal services.
Most recently, Tim Vercelloti, a professor at Rutgers University, found that 5.7percent of African Americans are less likely to vote in states that require voter identification. And let us not forget, voting is a right African Americans struggled to secure for all American citizens.
If U. S citizens do not have the "required" documents to prove their identity, an increasingly large portion of U.S. citizens will be denied access to social services and the right to vote at the federal, state, and local level. For example, in 2006, officials in Maricopa County, Arizona denied almost 5,000 U.S. citizens the right to vote because they did not have the "required" documents. In 2005, The Draft Reduction Act denied anyone re-applying for Medicaid who did not posses the same "required" documents. And by 2010, the Federal Election Integrity Act (passed in 2006) will deny all American citizens the right to vote if they cannot produce the "required" documents.
What are the "required" documents? You guessed it: a passport, birth certificate or proof of naturalization.
Why is this happening? Strict ID requirements that target immigrant and refugee communities also target African Americans, poor, and elderly communities. Federal, state, and local laws that attack undocumented immigrants and refugees threaten Americans' voting rights, the right to travel without fear of imprisonment, and access to social services. Anti-immigrant activists say strict ID requirements are a necessary burden that folks should be happy to shoulder in the fight against "illegal" immigration. But that is pretty easy to say when you are not African American, poor, or a member of the elderly community.
As African Americans we should be deeply concerned about the ongoing attack on immigrants and refugees. We know what it is like to be second-class citizens — and we do not want it happening to anyone.
[TOP]
Undocumented Workers Provide $600 Billion to Social Security
The government often uses the claim that undocumented workers do not pay taxes and are a “burden” on the workers that do. In fact, the majority of undocumented workers pay taxes like everyone else, including sales, income, and social security taxes. However, unlike other workers, they will not collect their social security benefits and in many states are blocked from receiving welfare, unemployment, Medicare or Medicaid.
The social security funds provided by undocumented workers, whose names and numbers are commonly classified as a “no-match” by the government, go into what is known as the Earnings Suspense File. According to the Social Security Administration, by October 2006, the Earnings Suspense File had accumulated $586 billion, up from just $8 billion in 1991. The money itself, which currently surpasses $600 billion, is credited to, and co-mingled with, the general SSA Trust Fund. SSA actuaries now calculate that undocumented workers are subsidizing the retirement of documented residents at a rate of $8.9 billion per year.[TOP]