The Star Packaging raid is nearly eleven months on, but the damage that Police Chief Jim Coan and now-retired detective and Larry Meyer did in the false name of ‘identity theft’ endures. (See my earlier post, “The Identity Theft Excuse”, for an explanation of how the raid on Star Packaging was falsely justified.)
It’s a holiday for us — citizens, residents, propertied — but not so easy for many of those who were previously employed in one of our local businesses, as reported in The Week:
Immigration attorney Erich Straub said the 10 employees he represents in their deportation battles are ones who were able to post bail and get out of jail. He thinks at least one other worker, represented by another attorney, remains in the country, fighting to stay here. Most of the other 14 employees, Straub thinks, were deported back to Mexico. “You can challenge (a deportation) order, but if you’re not able to post bond, you’re challenging it from jail,” Straub said. “The process is not fast. You could end up in jail from six to 24 months. A lot of people decide it’s not worth it and they decide it’s best to go home (to their native country)….”
The 10 people Straub represents are seven women and three men, most of whom are in their 20s and 30s, with a few in their 40s, Straub said. “As far as I’ve seen, I don’t think one of my clients has a criminal record,” Straub said. “They are mothers and fathers. They have children. They have families. They are hard working. They’re hard-working families that are trying to make a living here in the United States of America and they’re law abiding. But for the immigration allegations against them, they are not criminals. They’re not out there creating havoc and preying on society.”