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Code Words of Hate:
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 BreakthroughTV
9500LIBERTY
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Sat May 24, 2008 at 18:57:16 PM EDT
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According to the Des Moines Register, women working at Agriprocessors Inc. allege that they were subjected to quid pro quo sexual harassment while working at the meat processing plant:
Sister Mary McCauley, a Roman Catholic nun at St. Bridget's Catholic Church, said workers have said that "there was sexual abuse, that there's propositioning."
If a worker wanted, say, a promotion or a shift change, "they'd be brought into a room with three or four men and it was like, 'Which one do you want? Which one are you going to serve?'" said McCauley in an interview today with Des Moines Register editors and reporters.
"Unfortunately, they are grateful for some of their ESL classes, and they knew what some of those words meant," McCauley said. "If they had the courage, they could refuse it."
Stories are being collected for further investigation. [Source.]
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| SylviaM :: Allegations of Sexual Harassment at Postville; 270 Workers Convicted For Having False Papers |
Meanwhile, the federal government is further complicating the ability of workers to seek citizenship: on top of eventual deportation, 270 workers from the Postville raid have been criminally convicted of using false documents to work with Agriprocessors Inc.
The unusually swift proceedings, in which 297 immigrants pleaded guilty and were sentenced in four days, were criticized by criminal defense lawyers, who warned of violations of due process. Twenty-seven immigrants received probation. The American Immigration Lawyers Association protested that the workers had been denied meetings with immigration lawyers and that their claims under immigration law had been swept aside in unusual and speedy plea agreements.
The illegal immigrants, most from Guatemala, filed into the courtrooms in groups of 10, their hands and feet shackled. One by one, they entered guilty pleas through a Spanish interpreter, admitting they had taken jobs using fraudulent Social Security cards or immigration documents. Moments later, they moved to another courtroom for sentencing.
The pleas were part of a deal worked out with prosecutors to avoid even more serious charges. Most immigrants agreed to immediate deportation after they serve five months in prison.
The hearings took place on the grounds of the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, in mobile trailers and in a dance hall modified with black curtains, beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing several nights until 10. On Wednesday alone, 94 immigrants pleaded guilty and were sentenced, the most sentences in a single day in this northern Iowa district, according to Robert L. Phelps, the clerk of court.
That's right, folks; the federal government has decided to take immigration into the criminal sphere rather than its previous status as a civil proceeding. The consequences (that I can anticipate, anyway) are if an undocumented worker is caught by ICE, they'll have a criminal record on top of facing a deportation risk. The effect of having that criminal record will complicate seeking full citizenship immensely.
At one sentencing hearing, David Nadler, a defense lawyer, said he was "honored to represent such good and brave people," saying the immigrants' only purpose had been to provide for their families in Guatemala.
"I want the court to know that these people are the kings of family values," Mr. Nadler said.
Judge Bennett appeared moved by Mr. Nadler's remarks. "I don't doubt for a moment that you are good, hard-working people who have done what you did to help your families," Judge Bennett told the immigrants. "Unfortunately for you, you committed a violation of federal law."
After the hearing, Mr. Nadler said the plea agreements were the best deal available for his clients. But he was dismayed that prosecutors had denied them probation and insisted the immigrants serve prison time and agree to a rarely used judicial order for immediate deportation upon their release, signing away their rights to go to immigration court.
"That's not the defense of justice," Mr. Nadler said. "That's just politics."
Despite the impact these raids have on the lives of families and on the economic sustainability of whole communities, instituting processes for these workers to remain at their jobs is somehow too much. And stopping people from working and putting them in an overcrowded criminal justice system will help fix the problem. Right.
You know that saying about karma? |
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