Vol. 71/No. 12      March 26, 2007

Rodríguez, who packed ribs in the loin department, was found guilty of using another person’s identity to obtain a job at the Swift plant. In court, Rodríguez said she used another identity because she lacked proper identification. The mother of two children, Rodríguez said she did it “out of need” to support her family.

Her arrest was part of a sweep by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of six Swift plants in six states, in which immigration cops arrested nearly 1,300 workers.

Rodríguez was one of 99 workers arrested at the Marshalltown plant and one of 30 facing criminal charges. Her conviction was the first handed down by the federal court. According to the Marshalltown daily Times-Republican, Rodríguez is scheduled to be sentenced in June. After serving her sentence, she will be deported. Her husband has already been deported.

In the coming weeks, six more Marshalltown workers are expected to go to trial. The rest of the workers who face criminal charges have agreed to plea agreements. Usually this means “voluntarily” leaving the country; if the worker reenters the United States it would be a federal crime, punishable with an eight to ten-year sentence.

Meanwhile, dozens of workers arrested in the raids, who do not face criminal charges, remain locked up because they are unable to raise the thousands of dollars in bail needed for their release. Those who have been able to post bond face high attorney fees while preparing for immigration hearings.

In Colorado, detained workers from the Swift plant in Greeley are not “able to post bond because Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no-bond holds on them in the Weld County Jail,” reported an article in the January 18 Greeley Tribune.

“My son is not a robber, he is just here to work,” said Teodoro Pelico, the father of one of the detained workers there, according to the Tribune.
 
 
Related articles:
New Bedford factory raid sparks outrage, protests
Immigration cops grab 360 at leather plant;
March 17 rally to back arrested workers
Workers in Cactus, Texas, respond to ‘migra’ raids
‘Guest’ workers at U.S. farms superexploited
Chicago protest: No to raids and deportations!
‘Militant’ well received by Texas meat packers
Drop charges against Swift workers  
 
 
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