680 illegal aliens arrested working at Mississippi chicken plants

Boss 302

Boss 302

Pursuit Driver
They were arrested working in 7 food processing plants. I can't help but wonder if these plants were using e-Verify or not. Most likely they weren't as many companies don't. I think many companies avoid using e-Verify so they can claim ignorance about their employees alien status. Whether they use it or not should be no excuse for those companies to avoid prosecution and fines. I'd like to see the fines be $10,000 for each illegal caught in their employ. In this case, it would be a total of $6.8 million. For the sake of discussion, let's say each of these plants had an equal amount of these illegals working for them. They'd each be fined more than $971,000, plus the embarrassment of harboring illegals. There are several of these plants in Gainesville. I've driven by them at times during shift change and nearly all of the employees are Hispanic. I often wonder how many of them are here illegally.
 
Fine them the maximum amount. If that costs others their jobs well that's cost of working for an unethical employer. As capitalists like to say, the market will adjust. We eat a lot of chicken in this country, other processing plants will gladly take the new business.
 
"Civil penalties range from a minimum of $375 per unauthorized worker for a first offense up to a maximum of $1,600 per worker for a third or subsequent offense. If you are found to have engaged in a “pattern and practice” of hiring undocumented workers, then you can be fined up to $3,000 per employee and/or imprisoned for up to six months." https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/legal-pitfalls-hiring-undocumented-immigrants.html

The first problem is hiring illegals is a civil offense and not criminal. The second problem is the low fines. $375 per illegal. Using the story in the OP, that would be a total of $255,000. Let's say each chicken plant had an equal amount of illegals who were arrested; that's $36,429 in fines for each plant. I still say the first offense should be $10K per illegal and up to a year imprisonment.

These plants are going to say they didn't know the documents the workers used were fake and they are not experts in identifying faked documents. That's more reason to use e-Verify. If a company uses e-Verify and the documents were fakes, e-Verify will be able to determine that. Everyone has to have a Social Security card in order to work. Illegals cannot get one, so they purchase fake ones with someone else's SS number. An employer I once worked for used e-Verify. About a month after we hired an Hispanic, it came back her Social Security number actually belonged to a woman who was living and working in Texas.

We had Hispanics produce photo copies of their green card and SS card. When we told them they had to bring us the originals, they never came back. They were using fake ones made from somebody else's documents. You'd be surprised how many employers will accept photo copies of the documents.

A lot of companies won't use e-Verify because they are willing to hire illegals who will work for less. It's about the money. It should be the law to use e-Verify.
 
If E-Verify was used for employment, housing and any and all government benefits with a hefty fine and jail time for any violations we wouldn’t need a wall.
 
I have never worked for an employer who used E-Verify, I don't think. How many of you use E-Verify, or work for an employer who uses it?

I know one problem is the worker starts out with valid documents, the business fills out the I-9 and everything is legal. If a worker starts out with legal documents, then they expire, the business does not re-check.

All those who cross the border and are then told to come back for a hearing are given documents so that they can work in the US while they wait the hearing... others immigrants have valid documents, but get lazy and do not continue to keep them up to date.

I know a hotel that had an audit. There were several hispanic employees who had been employed for 15 to 20 years who were found to not be legal to work in the US anymore. They had never done the next step to remain in the US, thinking everything was fine, or just figured San Diego does not care, I guess... I did not speak with them, the general manager who was Phillipino told me. She said to get to the US from the Philippines your papers must be in order. She said none of her Filipino employees were found to be working illegally. She said you can't just walk across a border, or swim to the US from the Philippines, so people are more likely to go through the proper steps to come to the US.

Once you take the I-9 info, there is not a time you must re-verify it I guess
 
We do, and we have to prove our people are everified when we work on government contracts.

Everify is actually one of the more successful government programs, it actually works most of the time.

But I will say this...our government needs to stop squaring off with one side against the other, and fix the immigration mess in many ways. Yes, we have a major problem with aliens crossing the boarder and coming here illegals. But we also have just as big a problem with the system making it so very difficult for the good ones who want to come here legally and become productive citizens. If we could fix that end, a lot of them would not enter illegally. And we actually need the good ones to help support our economy.
 
I've worked for three employers that includes my current employer that used e-Verify. We have to upload copies of the documents they provided into the system. It's very effective. My previous employer used it as well, and we were informed three new hires were illegals. We had to fire them.
 
We have to verify our every year when we renew our Cobb County Business License.
 
ABTHREE said:
Well I guess the price of chicken will be going up if this keeps up.
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It actually is a bit of a problem.

Though I don't condone people entering this country illegally, the reality is that many industries depend on the workers. Our government needs to stop fighting long enough to try and find a workable solution to this issue.
 
Yes our immigration system needs work. In most cases these people are hard working folks. If you watched them roof a house or do any manual labor you know what I’m talking about. There’s got to be a better/faster way for them to enter this Country legally and pay taxes and contribute to this Great Country. Legal from the word go.
 
ABTHREE said:
Yes our immigration system needs work. In most cases these people are hard working folks. If you watched them roof a house or do any manual labor you know what I’m talking about. There’s got to be a better/faster way for them to enter this Country legally and pay taxes and contribute to this Great Country. Legal from the word go.
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It would actually be a good thing for them and us (us being our country) to get the good ones. You're right, most are hardworking and good people who love this country. I'll take them over a lot of people on the left who trash talk the US all the time. Add the ones who live off the taxpayers because they are too lazy to get off their butts (and before anyone starts, they come in all colors).
 
Our welfare system was reformed during the Clinton administration with the intent of preventing people from being on it for more than two years. Enforce that and make them get off their lazy arses and get jobs. The food processing plants used to pay pretty decent wages. I know a few people who used to work in them quite a few years ago, but got "laid off" and replaced with Hispanics who got lower wages. I know quite a few people who used to make a good living working building construction and the same thing happened to them. There needs to be a law that all employers must use e-Verify.
 
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