NW Arkansas Focus : Springdale alien roundup raises questions

[Timefortruth]

Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Deportation cases against two dozen illegal aliens apprehended in a recent raid at two Springdale houses highlight an inconsistency in how such cases are handled.

The cases also reveal a continuing problem with some business owners who hire aliens but then don't pay them, law enforcement and immigration experts said. That happens frequently because the owners know the illegal workers likely will not report them to authorities, they said.

......

Plumlee said prosecutors will be looking at the nonpayment of wages, along with the claims that De Oliveira was providing housing and transportation. The fact that the workers hadn't been paid is a factor to consider in building the case, Plumlee said, but it will not add any criminal charges.

"Not paying is a factor," he said. "But it's really not a crime to not pay employees."

Nonpayment of wages is a civil matter and just one way in which illegal aliens are exploited, Plumlee said. He said they are targeted because they won't go to authorities to file a lawsuit for wages and won't file a claim if they get hurt on the job.


Read more: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/257195/

---

Now, I'm no lawyer but isn't fraud illegal?

[Coyote_Bandit]

1. The employment agreement

creates a contractual relationship and the failure to abide by the terms of the agreement is a breach of contract which gives rise to the right to bring a civil action. There may also be regulatory violations which are actionable through the state labor board.

There is a long history in NW Arkansas. One of the larger companies there has been accused multiple times over a couple of decades of being complicit in helping illegal workers enter the country. Also, there was a high profile case a couple of years ago where a legal immigrant hired and exploited illegal immigrants working in a resturant chain.

[harmonicon]

2. yet some people still blame the workers

fucked up.

[Blandocyte]

3. Run, Mork, Run!

But seriously... nonpayment of wages? sounds like slavery?

[DCKit]

4. I talked to a Nicaraguan guy in the Shenandoah valley a few years back...

'cause I wasn't seeing familiar faces/types (El Salvadoran, Honduran, Bolivian, Mexican) among the Latinos I was seeing out there. He explained to me the huge recruiting effort going on in Nicaragua (specifically) to get foreign labor into the U.S. - in this case, for chicken and turkey processing plants.

Though these folks applied for and came to work with green cards (at least most of them), I doubt they will be treated any better as unemployment continues to rise.

[damntexdem]

5. "But it's really not a crime to not pay employees." Just shows how unfair the law is.

And why isn't fraud a crime?