Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
One of two supervisors who worked at Agriprocessors in Postville will return to U.S. District Court tomorrow to face charges that he conspired to hire illegal immigrants.
Information filed with the court alleges that Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, conspired with others, and aided and abetted his employer, in hiring more than 10 individuals he knew to be undocumented workers. The documents state that Guerrero-Espinoza told employees he supervised on May 7 — employees that he allegedly knew to be ineligible to work in the U.S. — that they were going to be terminated and immediately rehired by Agriprocessors.
Guerrero-Espinoza, who is currently being held without bail pending a September court date on charges related to encouraging illegal immigration, is now scheduled to appear in federal court in Cedar Rapids tomorrow, Aug. 20.
Guerrero-Espinoza and another supevisor — 43-year-old Martin De La Rosa-Loera — are the only two members of management from the Agriprocessors plant in Postville to face formal criminal charges following a May 12 immigration raid on the kosher meatpacker. During the raid, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained 389 workers, most citizens of Guatemala and Mexico. The vast majority of those workers were charged and convicted of criminal wrongdoing related to identity theft within days of the raid.
The original complaint filed against Guerrero-Espinoza alleges that, a few days before the execution of the search warrant at Agriprocessors, he told a group of employees that they needed new identification and social security numbers in order to continue working at the plant. He then, according to testimony, told the workers that they would need to provide him with a photograph and either $200 or $220.
The complaint against De La Rosa-Loera alleges he told some undocumented workers that they could no longer be employed at Agriprocessors because their identification was bad. He later allegedly told those same employees that they could return to work using the same names that had previously been used for employment.
Both Guerrero-Espinoza and De La Rosa-Loera have pleaded not guilty to the original charges.
Court documents also indicated the raid netted fraudulent permanent alien resident cards from the Agriprocessors human resources offices.
Authorities continue to search for a third supervisor, Hosam Amara. The indictment listing specific charges against Amara remains sealed.
Agriprocessors produces about 60 percent of the kosher meat and 40 percent of the kosher poultry in the U.S. market. The company’s brands include Aaron’s Best, Aaron’s Choice, European Glatt, Nevel, Shor Harbor, Rubashkin’s, Supreme Kosher, David’s and Iowa’s Best. Two-thirds of their products are nonkosher, and are sold through traditional retailers such as Wal-Mart.
Follow Lynda Waddington on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter