Sen. Salazar Sees Swift Action as Further Need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Federal agents investigating identity theft arrested immigrants at meat processing plants in six states Tuesday, shutting down production as workers’ relatives scrambled to bring proof they were legally employed. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said an unknown number of workers were arrested on immigration violations and criminal warrants stemming from a nearly yearlong investigation. ICE chief Julie L. Myers told reporters in Washington that illegal immigrants and others had stolen or bought the identities and Social Security numbers of perhaps hundreds of U.S. citizens and lawful residents. She said some immigrants had genuine U.S. birth certificates.  Click here for the full story.

U.S. Senator Ken Salazar released the following statement regarding reports that thousands of Swift & Company employees have been detained on charges of identity theft and immigration law violations.

ICE’s action at multiple Swift plants today is a clarion call for the nation to complete its work on comprehensive immigration reform. We need to have laws in place to take us from today’s chaos and lawlessness to law and order. That law and order system must include: increased border security, strict enforcement of immigration laws including a sound employer verification system, and a realistic method of dealing with the human and economic reality of millions of undocumented workers in America. This past year, the Senate passed bi-partisan legislation to address our broken borders. The House of Representatives had an opportunity to enact a law and order system. Unfortunately, they chose not to. The impact of their inaction is not limited to the immigrant community. Today’s action at Swift will have a strong ripple effect on the rest of the livestock industry. Weld County is the most profitable agricultural county in Colorado, with over $1 billion in agricultural sales. Today’s move by ICE will greatly impact the economy there. The tragedy of continual inaction towards comprehensive immigration reform has both human and economic consequences. It is what happens when we have a do-nothing Congress which refuses to act. What is happening at Swift today sends a strong signal to Congress that we must act with all due speed to enact comprehensive immigration reform. When Democrats take control in January, I hope today’s occurrences will motivate us to act.

KJ