Jan 22, 2007 2:21 pm US/Mountain
Judge: Government In Compliance In Swift Case
DENVER (AP) ―
A federal judge in Denver said Monday the federal government has complied with the law in handling people detained in an immigration raid at the Swift meatpacking plant in Greeley.
U.S. District Judge John Kane closed the case brought by the union representing workers at the plant. Lawyers for the United Food and Commercial Workers agreed they now know what happened to the 262 people taken into custody last month and all have been given a chance to seek bond.
Union attorney John Bowen said it took more than a month for some people to get a bond hearing. It's supposed to take just 48 hours.
The workers were taken into custody as part of a federal raid at Swift plants in Colorado and five other states.
Officials said they were cracking down on an identity-theft ring.
Union officials argue the raid was really aimed at rounding up illegal immigrants, and that some people left the country against their will.
Federal lawyers said fewer than 80 of the people arrested in Greeley were still in custody in Denver or in El Paso, Texas.
It's not clear how many face criminal charges.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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