US lease of Waterloo, IA fairgrounds raises questions, sounds like a containment center??? Options

[Beckie]

This fairgrounds is the Cattle Congress grounds. There are lots of barns (to be expected), but there are several good sized enclosed buildings on the property as well. Access to the grounds is easily controlled. Why would they attach generators to some of the buildings? And the lease is only until May 25th? This doesn't sound like an exercise to me. The article hasn't given any reason they have focused on ICE. Very curious.

U.S. lease of Waterloo fairgrounds raises questions
By WILLIAM PETROSKI • REGISTER STAFF WRITER • May 6, 2008

Federal officials have imposed a news blackout at the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, where they have leased almost the entire property through May 25.

Tim Counts, a Midwest spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, declined to say Monday whether an immigration raid is pending that would use the fairgrounds as a detention center.


"ICE never talks about our investigative activity or possible future enforcement actions," Counts said. "Regarding the exercise in Waterloo, there is currently no publicly releasable information about that, so we aren't releasing any."

He declined to say whether the "exercise" involves training or an immigration enforcement operation.

"We expect that at some point there will be additional information available, but I can't speculate at what point that might be," Counts said.

In December 2006, ICE conducted an immigration raid at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Marshalltown. Many workers were transported to Camp Dodge in Johnston, where military barracks were used as temporary detention facilities. A total of 1,282 Swift workers were arrested in Iowa and five other states in the biggest crackdown in history on immigration violations at one company.

The Waterloo Courier on Sunday reported that contractors have installed generators adjacent to many buildings at the fairgrounds.

In addition, windows on many buildings have been covered up, blocking views inside. A number of mobile-home-size trailers have been transported to the privately owned grounds.

Doug Miller, general manager of the Cattle Congress, declined Monday to release a copy of his group's rental contract with U.S. General Services Administration. He also indicated he was in the dark about what's happening inside the fairgrounds.

"I have no idea. They are conducting whatever exercise they are conducting without telling me all the details of it. I don't have any information to share with you, really," Miller said.

Representatives of Gov. Chet Culver and U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley said they had no information about what was happening at the Cattle Congress fairgrounds.

At Grassley's request, his staff called ICE officials on Monday.

"During the call, the ICE officials would neither confirm nor deny anything to Senator Grassley's staff," said Beth Pellett Levine, a Grassley aide.

Armando Villareal, administrator of the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs, said he hadn't heard any reports about impending immigration raids. But he added that many Latinos in Iowa are feeling tension and fear.

"Folks have resigned themselves that something terrible is going to happen between now and the election. It is more like a resignation that something is going to happen," Villareal said.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs...EWS10/805060374

[BugoutBear]

Here's our answer:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs...S/80512012/1001

Update: Up to 700 arrests estimated in Postville raid
By NIGEL DUARA and WILLIAM PETROSKI REGISTER STAFF WRITERS
May 12, 2008

Postville, Ia. – Four Homeland Security buses with U.S. Immigration and Customs tags on them have entered the Agriprocessors Inc. complex.

The buses, along with a trail of SUVs and vans with Minnesota license plates, arrived at about 11:45 a.m.

Federal agents descended upon this northeast Iowa community at about 10 a.m. today to conduct an immigration raid at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant.

The ICE agents entered the Postville plant to execute a criminal search warrant for evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, said Tim Counts, a Midwest ICE spokesman.

Agents are also executing a civil search warrant for people illegally in the United States, he said.

Immigration officials told aides to U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley that they expect 600 to 700 arrests. About 1,000 to 1,050 people work at the plant, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

Chuck Larson, a truck driver for Agriprocessing, was in the plant when the agents arrived. “There has to be 100 of them,” he said of the agents.

Larson said the agents told workers to stay in place then separated them by asking those with identification to stand to the right and those with other papers, to stand to the left.

“There was plenty of hollering,” Larson said. “You couldn’t go anywhere.”
When asked who was separated, Larson said those standing in the group with other papers were all Hispanic.

ICE spokesman Harold Ort in Postville did not confirm or deny that anyone had been detained, but went on to say that the children of those detained would be cared for and that “their caregiver situation will be addressed.”

“They were asked multiple times if they have any sole-caregiver issues or any childcare issues,” Ort said.

He said the two helicopters circling the complex were there to provide EMT support and to watch out for the agents on the ground.

Jeff Schnerbach, a sub-contractor electrician with Viking Electric, said he was on break at 10 a.m. when “200 agents” stringed into the complex.

“They took our statements, asked us where we were from, asked for an ID and let us go,” Schnerbach.

Early scene in Postville
Earlier this morning, a helicopter hovered over the scene, and a number of agents formed a perimeter around the Agriprocessors facility. Vehicles from ICE and at least eight cars and vans from the Iowa State Patrol were at the plant. There were also reports of two moving vans at the scene, along with an ambulance and two black Chevrolet Suburbans.

Counts declined to confirm where people who are arrested will be detained. Federal officials have leased the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, but they declined to explain last week whether the property was being prepared for use as a detention center.

Aides to Braley, a Waterloo Democrat, said they have been told that “hundreds” of arrests are expected because the action is more of an “investigation” than an immigration raid, and specific individuals are being targeted for arrest as part of the investigation.

Jeff Giertz, a spokesman for Braley, said immigration officials left the impression that the Cattle Congress site will be used mainly for processing of suspects rather than any long-term detention.

Counts said that each person being arrested would be questioned by ICE and by Public Health Service medical professionals to determine if they have humanitarian issues, including child care giver or medical issues.

“Those interviews will aid ICE in determining whether people will be detained or conditionally released on humanitarian grounds, pending their immigration court appearance,” Counts said.

Counts described the events in Postville as a “single site operation.” He said he was not aware of any other immigration raids being conducted elsewhere today.

Postville Police Chief Michael Halse said he did not know anything about the raid until 10 a.m. today.

Iowa Department of Public Safety officials referred all questions to federal authorities. A news conference is scheduled at 2 p.m. today at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cedar Rapids.

Postville, on the border of Allamakee and Clayton counties, is a community of more than 2,500 people that includes natives of German and Norwegian heritage and newcomers who include Hasidic Jews from New York, plus immigrants from Mexico, Russian, Ukraine and many other countries.

The Agriprocessors plant, known as the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, is northeast Iowa’s largest employer.

About 200 Hasidic Jews arrived in Postville in 1987, when butcher Aaron Rubashkin of Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood reopened a defunct meat-packing plant with his two sons, Sholom and Heshy, just outside the city limits. Business boomed at the plant, reviving the depressed economy while pitting the newcomers against the predominately Lutheran community.

A University of Iowa professor, Stephen Bloom, wrote a book, “Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America,” detailing what happened.

Workers and immigration advocates in Iowa began girding for an immigration raid last week after learning that federal authorities had leased Waterloo’s Cattle Congress fairgrounds. Federal officials declined to explain their plans last week, but advocates worried the fairgrounds would be used as a detention center. That’s what happened in December 2006, when federal agents took people apprehended in a raid at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Marshalltown to the Camp Dodge military base in Johnston.

The scene in Waterloo

In Waterloo, a helicopter cruised over the Cattle Congress fairgrounds about 12:45 p.m. as a group of about five reporters watched from a parking lot across the street from the main gate.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials in black uniforms were posted at the gate and referred all reporter questions to Tim Counts, the spokesman.

A few touring coach buses were parked inside the gates, along with several ICE vehicles.

Retired University of Northern Iowa professor Rosa Maria de Finlay approached the gate to offer her interpretation services, but she, too, was turned away by an agent.

De Finlay said she has stopped by Cattle Congress repeatedly today, checking the grounds for signs that people were being detained there. She said she saw no buses enter.

“I think the money we’re spending on all this is incredible. You and I will never know how much it costs. That money could be used for something else other than this crap, this nonsense,” she said.

[Beckie]

BugoutBear, you beat me. I was just coming here to post :)

Here is the Waterloo Courier version - it has some other info in it.


UPDATE: Immigration officials raid Agriprocessors in Postville
By Courier Staff and The Associated Press
WATERLOO --- A flurry of activity is taking place on the grounds on the National Cattle Congress today as federal officials raided the Agriprocessors plant in Postville.

At 12:25 p.m., a Homeland Security helicopter landed on the NCC grounds. Buses were on the grounds of Agriprocessors and NCC.

Immigration officials raided the Agriprocessors Inc. meat packing plant in Postville at 10 a.m. today.

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed criminal search warrants for aggravated identity theft and fraudulent Social Security numbers.

Civil search warrants were also issued for illegal immigrants.

ICE agents and medical professionals are evaluating those arrested, said ICE spokesman Tim Counts.

Those in need of medical care could be conditionally released, while awaiting appearance in immigration court.

A toll-free hotline was set up by ICE for family and friends of those arrested at 1-866-341-3858.

Waterloo Community School administrators said they have yet to see any backlash from the Monday morning raids in Postville. No widespread absences had been reported to the administration building by 1 p.m. today.

However, administrators, who are attending a meeting in Des Moines today and Tuesday, are keeping close tabs on the situation and preparing for any possible impact on students and their families.

“We have heard the rumors and received information about the raid in Postville. We are always cognizant how it could affect our families. Our job is to help children cope and deal with difficult situations,” said Sharon Miller, director of schools and community relations. “With any student who is facing a major concern we want to be there to provide support because what affects families affects our children and our schools.”

Sister Mary McCauley, a Roman Catholic nun at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville, told The Associated Press that family members of plant workers were coming to the nearby church in tears.

"The people right now are hearing and seeing the helicopters," McCauley said. "They are just panic-stricken and very frightened and some of them are coming to the church as a safe haven."

The church is about five blocks from the plant, she said.

She said rumors began swirling around the community on Friday about an upcoming raid, leaving many people worried.

She said immigration officials arrived with buses, vans and two helicopters.

She said she went to the plant to help provide information and assist workers but was not allowed to get close.

"Some of the people that are going to be detained are up against a fence and now they're tying their hands," she said.

Many of the plant workers are Hispanic, mostly from Mexico and Guatemala, she said.

Agriprocessors is the world's largest kosher meatpacking plant.

On Sunday, an immigrant rights workshop — put on in response to fears of a possible raid — drew several hundred people at Queen of Peace Catholic Church.

Hilda, who declined to give her full name because she fears deportation, lives in Waterloo with her 6-year-old daughter and husband, Enfraim, who works in construction. The family said they stayed after Mass for the meeting because they weren’t sure what to do if authorities came to their home or work to arrest them.

“We wanted to be prepared,” Hilda said in Spanish. “We wanted to find out what to do if they detain us.”

El Centro Latinoamericano, a resource center in Waterloo, hastily organized the event after being flooded with calls about rumors of an immigration raid.

The unrest started early last week after news spread federal officials, including some from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had set up a temporary base at the National Cattle Congress.

An ICE spokesman on Sunday declined to explain why the agency has set up dozens of trailers, generators and other equipment at the grounds. NCC officials said last week they were told the space was rented for a training exercise.

Local leaders and several immigrant rights organizations from Des Moines put on the presentation, which outlined the constitutional rights of every person, regardless of legal status.

They handed out a detailed, wide-ranging survey that asked questions about who should take custody of children in case of arrest and if they desire legal assistance. Advocates also handed out power of attorney packets.

People also received a “Rights Card” to hand to authorities in case of arrest. It states card-holder chooses to exercise their right to remain silent, and lists a contact number of an organization or attorney of the their choosing.

Sol Varisco-Santini, program coordinator for Des Moines-based Catholic Charities, helped lead the workshop. She said the organized effort draws on lessons learned from a 2006 raid on a Swift meat processing plant in Marshalltown.

By collecting lots of information from people and informing them of their rights, immigrant advocates hope to avoid some of the human rights violations they believe occurred during the Marshalltown raids. During the raid, Varisco-Santini said, reports of detainees not receiving food or water were not unusual.

“(Illegal immigrants) do have their rights, and a lot of people don’t know that,” she said. “There’s a lot of panic, and we wanted to help calm them.”

Feelings of unease have spread beyond Latino communities in Northeast Iowa. Varisco-Santini said Hispanics in Des Moines have also expressed fear, particularly because federal officials have been so tight-lipped about their intentions at NCC. Immigrant advocates from as far away as California are also monitoring the situation through list-servs and online news reports.

Carole Gustafson, a board member at El Centro Latinoamericano, said the meeting was crucial because immigrants raised in other countries often come from a culture in which authority figures are never questioned.

“In their country, you don’t argue with authority figures. You don’t have rights,” she said. “So if a boss says, all the Latinos come with me … it’s kind of like leading sheep to slaughter. That’s what was so important about today.”

http://www.waterloocourier.com/articles/20...5e333780304.txt