Could it be because of this?
The Kansas City Star reports:
…Of the nearly 400 arrested, 290 already have been deported, some leaving family members behind. Many of the remaining workers are unemployed and unable to leave. Some have requested visas contingent on their willingness to help the government prosecute the company for various offenses.
But too many who were allegedly victimized, including women who say they were sexually harassed at the plant, already have been deported, said Sonia Parras Konrad, an Iowa lawyer representing some of the workers.
“In our urgency to punish people here … we missed a lot of people who were victimized and who could have been extraordinarily helpful in the prosecution of the company,” Konrad said. “I hope the Obama administration can learn from what happened in Postville. We need to make sure our government screens these workers for potential victims and not be so quick to remove them.”…
Actually, I believe deporting potential witnesses was intentional, not accidental.
The government was content to rely on bank fraud charges and aggravated identity theft charges against Sholom Rubashkin, assuming he would bargain his way out a long prison term by ratting out his family.
Other charges, charges that would actually protect immigrant workers, were not on the government's agenda.
The aggravated identity theft charges have now unraveled and the bank fraud charges are not as severe as the government claims.
Rubashkin and his cronies may end up doing little if any prison time, while the workers they exploited and abused were punished to the fullest extent of US Law – and beyond.
The US Attorney and his assistant are Republicans. So is the Homeland Security chief who made the key decisions about the raid and its immediate aftermath. So was the Attorney General. And all of them answered to one man, George W. Bush.
Bush, you might recall, is the same man ultimately responsible for poor and nonexistent USDA oversight at Agriprocessors and other food producers. He is also the man responsible for near-complete lack of GIPSA enforcement during the eight years he was in office. The same is true for OSHA and for the SEC. And yesterday the Justice Department announced that it would resume enforcing antitrust and monopoly law, citing its lack of enforcement during the Bush years as a contributing factor responsible for the current economic collapse.
You might remember the DOJ was, back in 2005-6, investigating the glatt kosher meat industry for
collusion and antitrust violations. Agriprocessors was the major target of that investigation. But the investigation stalled – but not due to lack of evidence. It apparently stalled because Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spawned what we now know as the US Attorney scandal.
So it really isn't surprising the government didn't pursue civil rights charges against Agriprocessors, especially when one last bit of information is taken into account. Matt Dummermuth, the 36 year old US Attorney responsible for the unraveling Agriprocessors prosecution, has no real criminal law experience.
Dummermuth worked for the DOJ before being appointed (but never confirmed) as US Attorney. What did he do?
Dummermuth worked for the Civil Rights Division. Imagine that.