I'm a liberal pagan living in West, Texas. Yes. That West, Texas.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

CACTUS, TEXAS ...AFTER THE RAID...

Shit is hitting the fan....all over Cactus, Texas...The raids at Swift & Co. that resulted in at least 1,282 arrests in 6 states is kicking up some dirt. Federal authorities are now going after the illegal immigrants of hijacking the identities of U. S. citizens..This makes the raids the government's single-largest worksite-emforcement operation ever. The Sift plant in Cactus had 295 arrests on adminstrative immigration charges or criminal charges, more than any other Swift facility.
I guess so many people are pissed off because of the raids that they are quickly going after illegal workers who are violating the rights of U.S. citizens and other legal residents and participating in document fraud.
OOOh...the homeland security is knee deep in this too...ole Michael Chertoff used the actions taken by ICE to call for congressional action to overhaul immigration-enforcement tools.Operation Wagon Train(10 month operations name) should serve as a deterrent to illegal immigrants."I'm pretty much going to guarantee your we're going to keep bringing these cases," Mr. Chertoff told reporters. "We're going to try to make it inhostitable to break the law here." (yeah right)
The use of fraudulent documents had been a problem for two decades, Ms.Meyers said, but recently "evolved into a disturbing new trend" of buying genuine documents with real identities of U. S. citizens.
"Identity theft is widely reported as the largest and fastest-growing crime in America," she said, "and this case illustrates that illegal immigration may be a driving force behind this growth."
The Federal Trade Commission reports that it receives as many as 20,000 complaints or inquiries at week from consumers about identity theft. Officials highlighted the case of a Texas man who lost his wallet and later was arrested after someone who had stolen his identity used it for illegal activity. Another Texas resident's identity, they said, was used after a purse theft to obtain utility accounts and a Sprint cellphone account. The FTC determined that both suspects worked at Swift.
Officials at Swift & Co. learned of the investigation and tried to force ICe to change course.In late November, the company unsuccessfully sought an injuction from the federal district court in Amarillo to block a single-day raid at six plants. The raid was scheduled for Dec. 4, according to a court document. Swift told the court that as many as of 40 percent of its 13,000 employees at the time might be removed, causing a disruption that could cost up to $100 million. The company wanted them to phase the raids running between 10 weeks and four months, one plant at a time. ICE said that would allow suspects to disappear with the stolen documents and get employed elsewhere.
Even before the raids, Swift conducted its own survey of workers across its plants. The month long review in October and November found that 990-95% of 450 'suspect semployees' at Swift were either not eligible for U.S imployment or were using identification documents that were not theirs. As a result more than 400 workers were fired or quit..
"Swift did not notify ICE," U.S. Districk Judge Mary Lou Robinson said."Neither Swift nor ICe knows where those 400 workers are now."
The court battle brought up reports from the FTC that 331 Swift employees used false identitites "to the harm of other citizens." At the time 170 of those still worked at Swift.
(THIS SENTENCE IS THE ONE THAT STRUCK ME AS BEING THE MOST IMPORTANT.)
Mr. Chertoff said the company's 'good faith' involvement in a federal program to authenticate workers' documents mean it won't face civil or crimianl charges as a result of using illegal workers...
well, fuck me til I'm left handed...
Ok...there is a whole bunch more..and I know it's a lot to read..but I wanted to include another article that ties in with this one..even if not about illegals and jobs...it is about the baby boom in New Orleans...

LATINO BABY BOOM HITS NEW ORLEANS.
Immigrant workers' pregnancies add to health costs, headaches.
Since New Orleans was hit by Katrina hundreds of babies are being born to Latino immigrant workers, both legal and illegal, who flocked to the city to get jobs in the reconstruction of New Orleans.
Because many immigrant mothers cannot afford to pay prenatal care or delivery services, New Orleans' newest citizens are adding another load to the devastated health infrastructure in a city abandoned by most of its doctors.
The two health units providing prenatal care run by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals saw more than 1,200 pregnant women from January to mid-November. Virtually all were Latino immigrants.
Before the storm only 2 percent were Hispanic; now about 96 percent are Hispanic. Many immigrant women are not getting prenatal care and just show up ready to deliver, in hospital emergency room, where they are required to be seen even if they are in the country illegally.
According to the Louisiana Health and Population Survey, relaeased in November, the number of Latinos liveing in households in Orleans and Jefferson parishes has increased by about 10,000 since 2004, to 60,000, even as the total population has fallen by about a quarter, to roughly 625,000.
fuckity fuck fuck fuck.....
Let the good times roll...amigos...
fuckme till I glow..

11 comments:

Big Pissy said...

I hadn't heard or read anything about the illegal immigrant baby boom in New Orleans.

That's just what New Orleans needs right now.... :(

I also didn't know about the identity theft.

Thanks for keeping me informed.

I have to say that as a Mexican-American (2nd generation) it bothered me at first to read and hear about how the illegals were being treated~even though all of my relatives have been our of Mexico for at least 40 years and all came here legally.

Now I'm just immune to it.

Carina said...

I know it's a real problem in many hospitals in Southern California...I read (and verified on snopes) that in LA county, I think, 70% of babies born in public hospitals are born to illegal immigrant women. There's a term "anchor babies" because those kids are automatically US citizens. Schools are similarly overburdened and stressed because they have to hire so many Spanish speaking teachers and tutors, and set up seperate classes.
OTOH, I read recently that areas where there's a high % of first generation Hispanics are lower crime than the local average. It's subsequent generations who as youths tend to gravitate towards crime, gangs, etc - probably because they are less educated? I dunno. There's so much hyperbole and misinformation on this whole issue, from both sides.

Anonymous said...

There is a whole industry out there to get identities for illegal’s along with teaching them how to scam the social programs that are there for the protection of the poor. Things like how to get food stamps and also Doctors and lawyers that make a great living helping them scam Social Security for disability payments. I know of a legal resident who owned his own Chinese restaurant while his wife and kids live in New York in a Million $ home and collect every form of benefit they can from State and Federal Programs. I think he is legal anyway. In the last month he closed the restaurant and sold a couple of downtown lots he held title to and left. Maybe he knows something.
A lot of people get rich taking money from illegal’s and helping them blend in.
Sorry The Boss lost jobs we really needed a couple of times to illegal's from China. The subject tends to make me a little testy.

Anonymous said...

There is a whole industry out there to get identities for illegal’s along with teaching them how to scam the social programs that are there for the protection of the poor. Things like how to get food stamps and also Doctors and lawyers that make a great living helping them scam Social Security for disability payments. I know of a legal resident who owned his own Chinese restaurant while his wife and kids live in New York in a Million $ home and collect every form of benefit they can from State and Federal Programs. I think he is legal anyway. In the last month he closed the restaurant and sold a couple of downtown lots he held title to and left. Maybe he knows something.
A lot of people get rich taking money from illegal’s and helping them blend in.
Sorry The Boss lost jobs we really needed a couple of times to illegal's from China. The subject tends to make me a little testy.

Anonymous said...

So no charges are being brought against the company that hired these people, but they're going to....oh nevermind, LOL! I should know better by now.

There was a program on one of the cable channels recently about the influx of illegal workers in New Orleans. I don't remember the name, but it was a documentary, and very interesting.

Anonymous said...

What's up with Sink Sink Socks up there? Is he a troll or what?

Sorry I haven't been around much, overtime, head cold, life sucks right now but vacation MONDAY!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I just heard today that the wall that the govt. is building between the US and Mexico is going to be built partially by...yes, illegal aliens. We all saw that one coming, right?

JBlue said...

I was going to comment, then I read Sink Sink Socks' comment and now I'm all confused.... WTF, up there?

JBlue said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
yellowdoggranny said...

big pissy: i know that this is rought of mexican americans that are 2nd and third and even forth generation ....and all of our relatives were aliens here at one time or anotner...but it's not just about people needing to have a better life..it's about who get's hurt in the process of your getting your better life...really really sad..
sink sink socks: how many time do i have to tell you...2 every 4 hours..not 4 every 2 hours..
carina: there are many sides to this problem and it doesnt make it any easier when the people are so desperate for a better life...
nit wit: yeah, it's not just the mexican illegals..although they are the most prominent..but they come from every country...china, iraq, iran, india, different african countries....every where..and the other problem we have when such a large influx of people from another country is the melting pot theory...well..they ain't melting..they are clotting..they stay together and build their own little city within a city..never truly becoming americans..
cyber:yup..looks like Swift will get away with it..fuckers..
junebugg:hey, your still here...howdy..enjoy your vacation.
mimi: it's getting out of hand..it really is...but how do you round up 11 million people??
Jan: makes ferfect sense to the ones in charge..
blogger formly:..very sad case of drug abuse...ha

Anonymous said...

I like to think of the surging Latino population as being evolution in action.