23 illegal immigrants arrested in sweep at Casselton ethanol plant
Patrick Springer, The Forum
Published Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Twenty-three illegal immigrants believed to be from India were arrested today in a raid involving the ethanol plant under construction near Casselton, N.D., prosecutors said.
A task force led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made the arrests this morning after receiving a tip from the contractor, Wanzek Construction Inc. of Fargo, said Drew Wrigley, U.S. Attorney for North Dakota.
All 23 will face federal criminal prosecution, and are scheduled to make a court appearance Friday.
Although the workers came legally to the United States, they later obtained false documents, including bogus Social Security cards and driver’s licenses from several states, not including North Dakota, Wrigley said.
The arrests were made after the workers showed up for a meeting called by their employer, a ruse to accommodate the mass arrest. The arrests were made without incident, Wrigley said.
“They have cooperated throughout the investigation of this case and are to be complimented,” Wrigley said of Wanzek Construction.
For more information read Wednesday’s Forum.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
23 illegal immigrants arrested in sweep at Casselton ethanol plant (The Forum)
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT SAKET SONI -- 504 881 6610
New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice
ICE Raid Targets, Snares Human Trafficking Victims
Victims Demanded Access to Their Legal Counsel, but ICE Refused
Over 20 Indian Guest Workers who triggered a high-profile federal investigation into human trafficking were targeted this morning by a raid carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency near Fargo, North Dakota. Despite workers' repeated demands for their attorneys, ICE blocked workers' access to their legal counsel, outraging national experts and advocates.
The workers were among approximately 500 individuals trafficked to the United States after Hurricane Katrina major Gulf Coast employer Signal International, LLC. Workers were subjected to forced labor in Mississippi and Texas labor camps. They escaped the labor camps earlier this year to come forward and report human trafficking to the Department of Justice. The workers triggered a major criminal trafficking investigation, which is still open, filed a federal class action lawsuit in New Orleans against Signal International, LLC and labor recruiters in the U.S. and India, and staged a hunger strike in Washington, DC to push for the prosecution of Signal.
"It is an outrage that workers who courageously came forward at great personal risk to cooperate with the Department of Justice in a federal trafficking investigation were targeted by ICE and then denied access to their own legal counsel," said Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center. "This is yet another example of immigration enforcement run amok. ICE terrorizes and detains workers rather than targeting bad employers," added Hincapié.
Upon realizing that they were being targetted by ICE, the workers presented letters explaining they were victims and witnesses to the federal crime of human trafficking. The letter listed their attorney's name and contact information. They communicated that they did not want to be questioned without legal counsel. ICE summarily refused his and the other workers' requests and questioned them individually without attorneys or interpreters.
"Why isn't ICE spending national resources investigating criminal traffickers, instead of targeting and terrifying the victims?" asked Saket Soni, Director of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice. "Since these workers have come forward to report Signal International, LLC to the Department of Justice, they have faced ICE surveillance, ICE arrests, and now an ICE sting operation."
U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley held a news conference today, briefing the press on the ICE sting operation. Wrigley omitted to mention that workers were cooperating in a DOJ investigation of human trafficking.
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