Postville Raid

The Postville Raid was a raid on a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa. The May 12, 2008 raid was executed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security, with other agencies, and took place at the Agriprocessors Inc. kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant. The raid was the largest single raid of a workplace in Iowa's history, and resulted in nearly 400 arrests for the use of stolen social security numbers, and similar offenses. [cite web|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/NEWS/80512012/1001|publisher=Des Moines Register|title=Claims of ID fraud lead to largest raid in state history|date=2008-05-12|accessdate=2008-08-19] [cite news|publisher=Associated Press|title=Immigration raid tactics draw congressional ire|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmHylpkzF5HAUxg27S8hNZP_IE3wD924GKHG0|date=2008-07-24|accessdate=2008-08-19]

The Raid

Federal officials from the ICE, the Department of Labor, and the Justice Department raided the meat packing plant in the morning hours of 12 May 2008, arresting 389 individuals. [cite news|url=http://www.hpj.com/archives/2008/aug08/aug4/Postvilleraidpromptsimmigra.cfm?title=Postville%20raid%20prompts%20immigration%20reform%20rally|title=Postville raid prompts immigration protests|publisher=High Plains Journal|date=2008-08-04|accessdate=2008-08-19] cite news|title=Agriprocessors raid dissected in congressional hearing|url=http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/NEWS/18572093/1006/news|publisher=The Gazette - Cedar Rapids, Iowa|date=2008-07-24|accessdate=2008-08-19] According to the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Iowa, those arrested "include 290 Guatemalans, 93 Mexicans, 2 Israelis and 4 Ukrainians". [cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051702474_2.html|title=Immigration Raid Jars a Small Town|publisher=Washington Post]

Those arrested were taken to a nearby fairground, the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa, where they were briefed on their rights and options. Hearings were scheduled over the course of the following three days, during which each immigrant was offered a plea agreement in exchange for a guilty plea.cite news|publisher=New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/us/09immig.html?em|title=Immigrants' Speedy Trials After Raid Become Issue|date=2008-08-04|accessdate=2008-08-19] 297 immigrants accepted the agreement and pleaded guilty.cite web|url=http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080515waterloo.htm|title=297 convicted and sentenced following ICE worksite operation in Iowa|publisher=Immigration & Customs Enforcement|date=2008-05-15|accessdate=2008-08-19]

Impact

The raid had a significant impact on the Postville community. The town, with a census population of only 2,273GR|2, lost a large percentage of its population due to the arrests. Students of the Postsville School district did not attend classes in the days following the raid, including almost one-third of elementary and middle school students. [cite web|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080514/NEWS/805140371/-1/SPORTS09|title=Town of 2,273 wonders: What happens to us now?|publisher=Des Moines Register|date=2008-05-14|accessdate=2008-08-19]

On July 3, 2008, Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, and Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43, were arrested at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant. They were charged with aiding and abetting the possession and use of fraudulent identity documents, and encouraging aliens to illegally reside in the United States. Guerrero-Espinoza was also charged with aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft. The charges were filed in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. [cite web|url=http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0807/080703cedarrapids.htm|title=Two alleged supervisors arrested at Agriprocessors in Postville|publisher=Immigration & Customs Enforcement|date=2008-07-03|accessdate=2008-08-19]

In August 2008, Guerrero-Espinoza reached a deal with federal prosecutors in which he would face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 for "conspiring to hire, and for aiding and abetting the hiring of illegal immigrants." A federal magistrate indicated that Guerrero-Espinoza would likely serve a prison term of four to five years and could be deported upon completion of his prison term. [via "Associated Press". [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/us/21brfs-001.html?scp=1&sq=Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza,&st=cse "Iowa: Guilty Plea in Immigrant Case"] , "The New York Times", August 20, 2008.]

Reaction

Federal officials were criticized for the raid, primary over concerns that the subsequent criminal proceedings for the detained workers violated their rights to due process. [cite news|title=Immigration raids called harsh|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/25/MN6P11V1JC.DTL|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|date=2008-07-25|accessdate=2008-08-19] The ACLU has also criticized the three-day series of court hearings in the aftermath of the raid, and has published a copy of a "script" that attorneys were given to use in discussing possible plea agreements with their clients. The raid also took place while proceedings were pending against the plant on behalf of the workers in Federal Court. [cite web|url=http://www.ufcw.org/press_room/index.cfm?pressReleaseID=355|title=Leading Kosher Meatpacking Plant Delays Class Action Lawsuit|accessdate=2008-08-20]

Officials from the office of United States Attorney Matt Dummermuth, whose staff assisted in the preparation of the documents used in the hearings, have defended the proceedings. Bob Teig, a spokesman for Mr. Dummermuth's office, noted that the scripts were used only to ensure that the individuals being charged with crimes "...were fully advised of their rights and fully understood the consequences of their decisions to plead guilty." Marcy Foreman, who heads the Investigations division of the ICE, defended the treatment afforded to the immigrants arrested in the raid, confirming that detainees were provided with "...Food, bedding, milk, television - it was not a concentration camp."

Lawmakers, such as Representative Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, criticized the Bush Administration for using the raid as a political tool during an election year. [cite news|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080727/NEWS/807270337/1001|title=Politics led to Postville Raid, Democrat Alleges|publisher=Des Moines Register|date=2008-07-28|accessdate=2008-08-19] Congressional hearings were held before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, which split largely across party lines in its reaction to the events of the raid.

References