Authorities arrested Thursday 2 supervisors from a kosher
meatpacking plant in Iowa.
They were accused of helping illegal immigrant workers hide from authorities by
using fake Social Security numbers.
According to The New York Times, prosecutors said that Juan
Carlos Guerrero Espinoza and Martin De la Rosa Loera were arrested on criminal
immigration charges. They worked at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. The
two supervisors helped illegal immigrants to work at the plant. Apparently
authorities were searching for a third man who was believed to be the plant
manager. Hosam Amara, 43, was a floor manager and had more authority that the other two men.
The arrest happened after federal authorities conducted an
immigration raid on May 12. It was the largest immigration raid at a single
workplace in the history of America,
as authorities arrested about 389 illegal immigrant workers, reported Bob Teig,
a spokesman for the United
States attorney for the Northern District of
Iowa.
Martin De la Rosa Loera was in charge of the plant’s poultry
kill facility and Juan Carlos Guerrero Espinoza was in charge of the beef kill
and he is a U.S.
citizen, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Deegan, according to Gazette Online.
Agriprocessors is the country’s biggest producer of kosher
meat and his owner is Aaron Rubashkin.
Most of the workers who were arrested were from Guatemala.
About 270 workers were sent to federal prison on criminal charges. According to
the complaint, the workers said that Juan Carlos Guerrero Espinoza told them they
had to get new IDs and Social Security numbers in order to continue their work
at the plant. Each of the workers gave Juan Carlos Guerrero Espinoza $200 and
a photograph who said he would make sure they receive the new documents.
Scott Frotman, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial
Workers Union said authorities had to dig deeper and find all the guilty
persons.
“What about the allegations of worker abuse? Does anyone
really believe that these low-level supervisors acted alone without the
knowledge, or even the direction, of the Rubashkins and other senior
management?” said Scott Frotman, according to The New York Times.
The two supervisors were in the custody of U.S. marshals
and they were scheduled to appear on court Monday.
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