Suit Against ICE for Swift Raids

Swift Bacon - Do you still buy it?









Reasons not to buy Swift Bacon
1. Bacon is really bad for your cholesterol.
2. Eating bacon on a regular basis, significantly contributes to the incidence of diabetes and heart trouble.
3. Swift Bacon probably has bad energy now that the company colluded with ICE on the raids in Dec. 2006.
4. Eating animals is bad for your health and theirs.
5. The Virgin of Guadalupe might be upset that you are eating Swift products since they allowed the raid to occur on her feast day.

-----
Democracy Now
September 28, 2008

Amy Goodman interviewing
Gloria Contrera-Edin, Executive Director of Centro Legal


On December 12, federal agents raided Swift plants across six states. More than 1,200 undocumented workers were arrested overall, including more than 200 workers in Worthington.

The lawsuit claims that federal agents "insulted, abused, and humiliated the plaintiffs on account of their race." The suit says female Latino workers were ordered to disrobe in front of federal agents during the raid, while white workers were allowed to move about the plant freely...

The lawsuit was filed on September 4 of this year, the day after Labor Day, and it’s on behalf of ten plaintiffs who are either US citizens, legal permanent residents, or those who are authorized to work in this country. We are alleging constitutional violations...

What’s important to recognize in this particular case is that this really wasn’t a typical immigration raid. This was a part of a criminal investigation that the government had been conducting for possibly over a year. They had a list of people whom they could have gone in, picked up, without any disrupt to the companies, to the communities, and they chose not to. And so, whenever you’re part of a criminal investigation -- now, I’m not a criminal lawyer, but I know enough to say that when you’re part of a criminal investigation, you’re afforded certain protections. You’re afforded the protection of an unreasonable detention. You’re also afforded the protection to have the right to remain silent, the right to counsel. You’re also afforded the protection to be able to speak to an attorney if an attorney is available to you. In all these situation and across the country, people were not afforded these rights. And so that’s why we filed this lawsuit...

100-plus agents descended upon this Swift Company packing plant in Worthington, Minnesota, and we know that -- we also know that the employer, Swift and Company, supervisors were working with the agents and preventing people from leaving the site. So they surrounded the premises with agents and their vehicles. They pulled up approximately six buses to load people up. And then they systematically and procedurally started rounding up people who were of Latino descent.

It’s important to recognize here that people who did not look Latino were allowed to roam freely throughout the plant, and so those who were Latino, even if you were a citizen or a resident, were required to prove that they were here lawfully. Now, I personally can’t prove that I’m a US citizen. I wouldn’t know how to do it. But in this case they required everyone to do it upon the threat of deportation and removal...


for audio interview and transcript click the title to this post

photo: http://boortz.com/images/swift_bacon_1955.jpg