Immigration Charges for Meatpacking Managers

Immigration Charges for Meatpacking Managers

DES MOINES -- Two supervisors at an Iowa meatpacking plant that was raided by immigration agents in May were arrested and charged with encouraging people to live in the United States illegally.

Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, and Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43, were also charged Thursday with aiding and abetting the possession and use of fraudulent identification. Guerrero-Espinoza was charged with aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.

Federal immigration officials raided Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, on May 12. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent-resident alien cards were seized from the plant's human resources department, court records said. Critics have asked federal officials why no top executives at the plant had been arrested, even though more than a third of the plant's employees faced immigration charges.

An Agriprocessors spokesman said the company and its attorneys were reviewing the paperwork from the federal action and couldn't comment.

Shooting in Crowd Kills 4 in Wis.

MILWAUKEE -- At least one person fired a gun into a crowd in a street early Friday, killing four people and sending panicked revelers running for cover, police said. Two women, ages 23 and 27, and two men, ages 34 and 28, were killed at about 2:30 a.m. on the city's north side, police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said. Two people were injured. More than 100 people were on the street when shots were fired, some possibly from a party, Schwartz said. No suspects are in custody, she said, and police were having difficulty getting cooperation from witnesses.

Rainbow Family Pelts Police

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- About 400 members of the Rainbow Family threw rocks and sticks at 10 federal officers as they tried to arrest a member of the group who was described as being uncooperative, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday. Five members of the group were arrested, and one officer was slightly injured. The Rainbow Family is a loose affiliation of eccentrics who choose a forest each year in which to hold a week-long gathering. About 7,000 members are camping this year on Forest Service land near Big Sandy.

Lady Liberty's Crown May Reopen

NEW YORK -- The National Park Service is considering reopening the Statue of Liberty's crown for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to documents released Friday by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.). The Park Service requested bids last month to study what it would take to safely open Lady Liberty's headpiece and its interior observation deck to the public, according to the documents. While other parts of Liberty Island have reopened since 2001, the crown has remained closed because the Park Service said there is no way to evacuate it safely in an emergency.

-- From News Services