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News
Braley
Continues to Press for Agriprocessor Update
Posted 25 June 2008
Yesterday, Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) continued to press for
information on the status of an ongoing Department of Labor
investigation into Agriprocessors, Inc., for violations at their
Postville plant.
Braley originally wrote a letter to Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
and other federal officials on May 15.
According to media reports, the Department of Labor was conducting an
investigation—independent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s
investigation—into possible labor law violations, including illegal
child labor, at the Agriprocessors plant. However, the May 14th Des
Moines Register stated that “federal officials put the case ‘on hold.’”
A copy of the letter is attached to this message. The text of the
letter is below:
--
June 24, 2008
Elaine L. Chao
Secretary of Labor
U.S. Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Bldg., 200 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20210
Julie Myers
Assistant Secretary
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
425 I Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Matt M. Dummermuth
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
Department of Justice
Hach Bldg, Suite 400, 401 1st Street, S.E.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401-1825
Dear Secretary of Labor Chao, Assistant Secretary Myers, and U.S.
Attorney Dummermuth:
I am following up on a letter I wrote to you regarding the status of
any ongoing investigations into the Agriprocessors processing plant in
Postville, Iowa. I originally sent this letter on May 15, 2008, and
then I sent a follow-up letter on June 3, 2008, again requesting the
same information as in the original letter.
It has now been over a month since my letter to you, and I have yet to
receive any kind of written response, except for a “knowledge of
receipt” letter from the Department of Justice, with a workflow
reference number of 1393444.
For the third time now, I request information regarding an ongoing U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) investigation at Agriprocessors, as well as
whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) communicated with DOL
prior to the ICE enforcement action at Agriprocessors on May 12, 2008.
I would appreciate a response to the questions from my original letter
as soon as possible. Following is the text of the original letter:
"Last November, I wrote to Acting Secretary Connor of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture concerning Agriprocessors, the world’s
largest kosher meat processor based in Postville, Iowa. At the time,
the focus of my attention was on the 250-plus Noncompliance Records
(NRs), as well as Letters of Warning to Agriprocessors dealing with
food safety.
"On Monday, May 12th, the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Agency (ICE) executed a worksite enforcement action at this same
facility and arrested more than 300 workers on criminal and immigration
violations.
"It has been reported that the Department of Labor (DOL) was involved
in a separate ongoing investigation of possible labor law violations,
including illegal child labor, in the Agriprocessors plant. On
Wednesday, May 14th the Des Moines Register reported that 12 juveniles
between the ages of 15 and 17 were detained during the enforcement
action at Agriprocessors.
"In a separate article in yesterday’s Des Moines Register, reporter
Clark Kauffman summarized Agriprocessors “history of noncompliance with
state and federal regulations related to food safety, pollution and
workplace safety at its Postville facility…” (see attached article).
The most recent violations included citations by the Iowa Department of
Labor Services for 39 violations of workplace safety rules and a
proposed $182,000 fine. The article states, “Federal officials put the
case ‘on hold.’”
"I would like to know whether ICE communicated with DOL prior to the
enforcement action on May 12th. Also, what is the status of these DOL
investigations? Is there any coordination going on between ICE, DOJ,
and DOL as they presumably continue their investigations related to
Agriprocessors?
It is important that both the ICE and DOL investigations continue. I
firmly believe that any possible violations of labor law, immigration
law, and workplace safety laws should be investigated and prosecuted to
the full extent of the law. I urge you to look into this matter and
look forward to hearing from you within the next ten days. Thank you
for your time and cooperation."
If I do not hear from you within the next ten days, I will refer this
information to the House Committees that have jurisdiction over these
labor, immigration, and workplace safety issues. Thank you for your
attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Bruce Braley
Member of Congress
Cc: Kristine Iverson, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor
Cc: Ricardo Velazquez, Office of Congressional Relations, Immigration
and Customs Enforcement
Cc: Keith B. Nelson, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for
Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice
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