On 07/24/08, the Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing entitled "Immigration Raids: Postville and Beyond" at 11:00am in room 1310 of the Longworth House Office Building.
You may watch it live online at: http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/calendar.html
This hearing is in part in response to the recent flurry of enforcement activity by the government from around the country. The main "case" happened in Iowa in May when federal immigration officials swept into Postville, Iowa on May 12 and detained nearly 400 workers at a kosher meat processing plant. The government arrested, charged with crimes, extracted pleas, and sentenced 297 of these individuals by the end of the following week. The nearly 300 individuals subjected to this process who reportedly pled guilty to the use of false documents (in order to work, mind you) in exchange for 5-month prison terms and deportation were neither adequately screened, nor advised of their rights under U.S. immigration law. Reports indicate that criminal charges were lodged through an exploding plea bargain (sign the deal within 7 days of arrest or face max prosecution) to secure jail time and forfeiture of all possible immigration relief, largely without adequate representation to these individuals.
In addition, on 7/16/08 ICE announced that a former and current top executive for a McDonald's franchisee in Nevada, plead guilty to federal felony immigration offenses for encouraging undocumented foreign nationals to reside in the United States. On 7/16/08 ICE administratively charged 18 foreign nationals at a concrete plant in Loveland, Colorado. ICE reports that the Air Branch of CBP provided "air support" for the raid. On 7/21/08, ICE announced that it executed nine federal search warrants and arrested 43 foreign nationals in a raid on a Waipahu apartment complex on Hawaii. The men were employed by The Farms, an agricultural business. Further, on 7/23/08 ICE arrested 58 employees at eight Casa Fiesta Restaurants throughout northern Ohio.
At its annual meeting in June in Miami, the U.S. Conference of Mayors officially adopted a resolution recognizing the important economic and cultural contributions immigrants have made to the U.S., also calling on ICE to exercise better and more reasonable judgment when engaging in worksite enforcement activities. The adopted resolution calls for a comprehensive immigration reform solution "which promotes the reunification of families, provides legal status with a path to earned citizenship, and a plan for current and future immigrant workers.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of these house hearings and discussions as the U.S. immigration system is in need of major overhaul.
