13 replies to this topic

[Tomato Country Girl]

Hello with current conditions we are starting to feel like we need to add something to our Crisis Management Plan regarding the potential of ICE raids at our facilities during our harvest season.

 

We follow all laws and check everyone through E verify but saw an article today that just got the conversation going even more. 

 

Any suggestions on resources guidance of what exactly you do obviously we follow the law and will allow them in but any information would be greatly appreciated.

[TimG]

We kinda touched on that a couple weeks ago:

ICE Raids-Anyone update existing regulatory inspection PnP? - IFSQN

[GMO]

It's crazy watching this from the UK.  Genuinely it feels like reading a history book and not in a good way.

[Seathalos]

It's crazy watching this from the UK.  Genuinely it feels like reading a history book and not in a good way.

 

Luckily you are able to read it and not live it. Scary times us US citizens are in. Be it from a food safety/health aspect to social aspects we are in a world of turmoil 

[SQFconsultant]

I entered Panama legally, but over-stayed the time limit for visitors as we had started a business and found it impossible to go thru the process of establishing residency in a timely fashion.  Thus, once I had a consulting client back in the US again I had to present myself to Panama's equal to ICE and pay an overstay fine, a certain amount per month of the overstay and then show proof that I had (an airline ticket) transportation out the the country.

 

Had I not done this the country of Panama could have easily pinged my passport, located me and sent out a team to arrest me as a criminal - instead after paying a couple of hundred dollars in fines an leaving the country I was able to return several months later.

 

The flip side of this is that our country (what will soon be the restored Republic of these United States) has been invaded by about 15 to 22 Million people - some of which were of terroristic organizations such as MS-13, Drug Cartels etc.   Big difference between going to a border and legally (documented) entering a country as compared to convoys of people that were well funded by nefarious people or organizations (such as the current NoKings get-togethers that are funded via the defunct CCP of China operatives and one of the Walmart folks) where they came in undocumented with many being provided false docs, etc.

 

Frankly if I ran a company that hired on questionable people I would not be concerned about a Crisis plan, I'd be more concerned about Business Continuity and Food Defense - cause if you don't know who is working for you, you have NO Food Defense - you would already be in a crisis situation if you have already allowed the company to be invaded by undoc'd or falsely doc's people.

 

Believe it or not deportations in mass numbers have been going on for the past 6 years and thru the use of planes and ships provided by an Alliance of countries (one of the first things President Trump formed in 2017 we are now at the end of this movie - where things become OPTIC to the public at large.

 

Somebody asked how does ICE know who to target - that's easy - The food industry (manufacturers, growers, temp agencies, logistics, restaurants, etc), the Lodging industry are famous for hiring undoc'd and falsely doc'd workers, that's step 1, step 2 is through literally  thousands of TIPS that are coming in hourly to ICE, FBI and DHS - primary is ICE - we included contact information on our blog for instance.

 

These so-called protests that are going on are netting tens of thousands of illegals and they are being processed rapidly and shipped out to their home countries or in the case of PEDO's, Gang Members, etc many are finding themselves in places like CECOT in El Salvador - some are ending up at GITMO.

 

The fact is that these folks will never be able to participate in their own countries GESARA programs by staying in our country, only Citizen's of US, American Nationals, Indigenous American Nationals and American Soveign's will enjoy the benefits of NESARA (GESARA is for the balance of the world.)

 

To me this is actually a very exciting time, as I see what is coming and fortunately it is not the headlight of a train coming thru the tunnel.

 

Many of these companies that are ripe for the pick-off by ICE will not be in business for too much longer and that is not a bad thing.

 

So, if your company has a lot of illegals, criminals, etc working for it I'd be expecting a visit by ICE/FBI/DHS etc and preparing for top level criminal charges for company management owners as Adding and Abetting carries large fines and potential jail time.

[kconf]

But most of these verifications are done by a 3rd party, no? 

[GMO]

It's so interesting that people assume folks crossing borders are doing so to commit crimes they could do just as well, if not more easily at home.  Not saying it doesn't happen of course but when we essentially had an open border with the rest of the EU, most people just seemed to want to work.  Problem is now that border is closed, against my will I'd add, the jobs they were doing didn't go away but a lot of the people who were here did.  While leave to remain existed, it sent a message which was accelerated through covid and risk of not being able to return to see family.

 

As a result, immigration didn't stop, it just came from different countries instead.  In the space of about 5 years, factories have gone from having, say 10 different languages in them (but one or two majority ones) to 30-60 languages with no majority.  What's more the people coming over, now have weaker language skills than those they replaced.  Same in our health service.

 

So all these ICE raids might be being cheered by those who believe the media and your leaders claiming they're all "bad hombres" but the reality is it's workplaces being raided.  That means it's going to be workers lost.

 

As part of your reaction to this, there is a food safety risk, I'd not just be planning for the ICE raids but what comes after?  Not only if you're raided but the people who are probably already leaving because this is too much trouble.  And a lot of those people will not be the "bad hombres" but the good workers.  Many of whom will have legal status but just don't feel welcome anymore (much like those with leave to remain did in the UK).

 

Who then does the work?  Picks your crops?  Works in your factories?  Not only will you likely struggle to find staff but the staff you will have to pay more for and will find might not have the skills you'd desire.  How's your Romanian, Bangladeshi, Punjabi, Nigerian, East Timorese etc?  I can speak some words in a few languages but it's now a much bigger problem for the food industry than I've ever seen.  How do you train people who speak zero English?  Who may not even be literate in their own language?  That's the reality here.

 

It's probably too late now to change this policy to avoid the above so I'd seriously start escalating any plans to automate processes where you can.  Even if much of that equipment might now be more expensive because of tariffs.  A lot of companies in the UK didn't and it is costing them.

[Seathalos]

Frankly if I ran a company that hired on questionable people I would not be concerned about a Crisis plan, I'd be more concerned about Business Continuity and Food Defense - cause if you don't know who is working for you, you have NO Food Defense - you would already be in a crisis situation if you have already allowed the company to be invaded by undoc'd or falsely doc's people.

 

 

 

This isn't an issue only effecting businesses that hire "questionable" people. They are targeting really anyone and everyone they assume are "illegal". This includes CUSTOMERS at places of business. In all reality every business should view this as a potential risk in their operations. If they randomly believe that you could have undocumented immigrants at your facility, you will be raided. Doesn't matter if you hire the most upstanding individuals (which most undocumented immigrants have a lower crime rate per capita compared to US citizens), if they look, talk, or act "foreign" your facility is at risk. 

[GMO]

Doesn't matter if you hire the most upstanding individuals (which most undocumented immigrants have a lower crime rate per capita compared to US citizens), if they look, talk, or act "foreign" your facility is at risk. 

 

After 9/11 and the 7/7 attacks in the UK, there were some comedians who are Asian British who pointed out they were now committing the crime of "travelling while brown".  People who did not look like white Brits then faced huge amounts of discrimination when travelling and assumption that they were "up to no good".

 

As a white Brit myself, I cannot imagine how hard this must all be if you do not look like a white American.  And it appears to be white which is being seen as the norm.  Which is astonishing when you read headlines like this:

 

Native Americans say tribal members harassed by immigration agents | Reuters

[Tomato Country Girl]

So I just wanted to come back and clarify the reason for posting this inquiry.  We do not hire illegal people we bring around 600 seasonal workers into our plants for about 2-3 months.during our harvest.  We verify everyone is legal and take pride in how we treat our employees temporary or full time.

 

The importance of seeking this information is to 1-know your rights, what legal experts are saying what is the industry doing/saying?   

                                                                            2-to be able to prepare for something the best you can that is an uncertainty. 

                                                                            3-keep everyone calm and safe 

                                                                            4-have a plan in place if quite a bit of our temporary staff leave.

I would like to say I am very tired of politics and think this website is best to stay focused on Food Quality and Safety and leave the politics to social media.

So with this being said I am attaching what I have found by FMI here in the US.  I will say this is just sharing info I do not necessarily agree with certain aspects of this guidance but I wanted to share for those like me that want to have a plan in place. This was sent via email from FMI Government Affairs. I could not attach the email so I copy and pasted into word doc and attached.  It is the copy of what I received and the resources given.  Which one of them I did post there is a Q&A sheet and checklist as well inside the article.   

                                                    

                                                                 

Attached Files

•  EmployerGuide-NELP-NILC-2017-07-1.pdf   11.82MB   10 downloads
•  FMI Seeking Input on Immigration.docx   15.06KB   8 downloads

[Seathalos]

Unfortunately this topic is inherently political with its subject matter. Though there is a strong argument that all of food safety is inherently political at its core

[Killian]

So I just wanted to come back and clarify the reason for posting this inquiry.  We do not hire illegal people we bring around 600 seasonal workers into our plants for about 2-3 months.during our harvest.  We verify everyone is legal and take pride in how we treat our employees temporary or full time.

 

The importance of seeking this information is to 1-know your rights, what legal experts are saying what is the industry doing/saying?   

                                                                            2-to be able to prepare for something the best you can that is an uncertainty. 

                                                                            3-keep everyone calm and safe 

                                                                            4-have a plan in place if quite a bit of our temporary staff leave.

I would like to say I am very tired of politics and think this website is best to stay focused on Food Quality and Safety and leave the politics to social media.

So with this being said I am attaching what I have found by FMI here in the US.  I will say this is just sharing info I do not necessarily agree with certain aspects of this guidance but I wanted to share for those like me that want to have a plan in place. This was sent via email from FMI Government Affairs. I could not attach the email so I copy and pasted into word doc and attached.  It is the copy of what I received and the resources given.  Which one of them I did post there is a Q&A sheet and checklist as well inside the article.   

 

Thank you for those resources TCG. I think because the subject is inherently political it isn't being briefed in the same way other credible threats to food safety/defense are. Maybe because companies believe it's already covered by GMPs (not allowing strangers to waltz in the door), but I think people view strangers in uniform differently. If an (apparent) EMT showed up and demanded access with confidence and a sense of urgency, I'd rate the odds of them being allowed entry as very high. From my experience I know this issue has been discussed at a senior management level, but there have been no briefings or notices to disseminate the information to the general production staff, who would almost certainly be the ones to open the doors if ICE (or anyone else) showed up.

[Seathalos]

From my experience I know this issue has been discussed at a senior management level, but there have been no briefings or notices to disseminate the information to the general production staff, who would almost certainly be the ones to open the doors if ICE (or anyone else) showed up.

 

Yeah making sure that the production staff knows what to do in that case is very important. Especially with the amount of people larping in uniform. Verifying they are who they say they are should take precedent because of how many "vigilantes" have been out acting as though they are with the State. Reinforcing that they have to check in like any other individual and having employees confident in their approach of directing the potential officers to upper management is key to making sure that everyone, from the employees, to the officers, to our end consumers are fully protected. 

 

Just because someone looks like they are from the State does not mean they can disregard the rules and regulations we have to ensure public safety

[kfromNE]

Reminder in general for crisis management: Employees. Make sure you have enough employees trained on the different jobs. An example: snowstorms, power outages, pandemics.