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Illegal Immigration Roundup in Houston

What a joke

Yesterday, agents from the Department of Homeland Security made raids in 9 states, rounding up and arresting hundreds of illegal workers…mostly from Houston-based IFCO Systems North America Inc. who is in the business of recycling wooden pallets.

In Houston, 67 illegal workers were arrested at IFCO. Sounds good right? Sounds like we’re cracking down on illegal immigrants, right?

Then why do I think it’s a joke?

In Houston the raids resulted in 67 arrests. All but 14 of those apprehended had been assigned court dates and released by Wednesday evening.

Maybe if they had released them back into Mexico, or Honduras, or Guatamala, or Canada, or wherever they illegally migrated from…then it would be a good thing.

But NO. They released them back onto the streets of Houston.

Let me ask you this easy question: if you were in a country illegally, and were arrested but then released with a summons to appear in court…would you?

That’s what I thought. And if even one of these illegal workers makes his court date I’ll buy everybody in the house a round of drinks.

***
Oh, and lest any of you claim that IFCO was exploiting these guys for below-minimum wages:

Nelson Chavarria, who had his papers in order and was one of only five workers left after the Homeland Security buses pulled away on Wednesday, said he had more work than usual a day later.

“I’ll be frank. Here, everyone knows that the majority of people working for the company are undocumented,” said Chavarria, who earns about $10 an hour, plus overtime

The answer here is to fine IFCO so severely that it serves as a message to other employers.

***
MORE:

Michelle Malkin calls yesterday’s catch-and-release raids a dog-and-pony show.

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Friday, April 21st, 2006 | Trackback |

2 Responses to “Illegal Immigration Roundup in Houston”

After all these years, we are all of a sudden cracking down on illegals and their employers???? This is purely political. The administration knows that the public (citizens) are damn mad that our laws are blatantly not enforced and are trying to show us now that they mean business in hopes we’ll all believe that the various guest worker/amnesty/whatever you want to call it proposals are going to work. Sorry Bush, Clinton et al, you’re a day late and a dollar short. We have lost faith in you. All we have to do is look around us at the 12 million times you have lied to us.

Left by dianne on April 22nd, 2006 at 7:03 am

This is just going to be another “Tyson Two-Step” like the Tyson Foods case in Tennessee in 2003. In that case, two of their mid level managers (they chose the short straws) were chosen as the sacrificial lambs and one of them got a $3,000.00 fine and a year’s probation. The other one got a $2,000.00 fine and a year’s probation. In spite of overwhelming evidence that Tyson Foods had transported, housed and provided phony documents, including social security cards, the Corporation and the Corporate big-wigs were not found culpable. The Government spent millions of taxpayer dollars to fund the “three year” investigation and a six week trial. I’d be willing to bet that those two managers were re-hired by Tyson and sent to one of their facilities in another state and Tyson is still employing illegal aliens at most of their meat processing plants. I’d even be willing to bet that someone from Congress put a “bug” in someone’s ear from USCIS to “lay off” investigating Tyson again.

Does anyone want to take a bet on whether ANY executive from IFCO will EVER see the inside of a prison over this “dog and pony show”?

Left by Tony Bulver on April 25th, 2006 at 8:52 pm

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