l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Immigration Audits Hurt Hispanic-Oriented Grocery Chains
By Katy Stech
Struggling from the fallout of federal immigration audits, two Southwest
grocery-store chains have filed for bankruptcy protection with plans to
reorganize.
California’s Mi Pueblo grocery store operator filed for Chapter 11
protection on Monday after the 21-store chain was told to replace some of
its 3,260 workers whose documentation came under review during a U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement audit, according to court papers filed
with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Jose, Calif.
The chain—which stocks its shelves with imported foods from Mexico, South
America and other countries for its primarily Hispanic customers—said in
court papers that the federal audit led the company to struggle with higher
payroll costs and training expenses as new workers have been brought on
board, said bankruptcy attorney Robert Harris in court documents. The stores
sell fresh tortillas, marinated cuts of meat and specialty cheeses from
throughout Central and South America.
That filing comes after executives at Pro’s Ranch Market put the company’
s11 stores, which employ about 2,235 workers and are mostly located in
Arizona, under bankruptcy protection in May. Besides a tough economy and
growing competition, company officials said the company was also “
effectively singled out for an immigration audit to which no other
competitor was subjected,” according to documents they filed with the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix.
Pro’s Ranch Market said it had to lay off 300 workers—roughly 20% of its
workers—in 2010 following an agency investigation that found some employees
to be working in the country illegally, according to court papers. Many
workers could only produce fake documentation when asked for papers that
proved they were eligible to work, according to local reports.
“The adverse, negative, and chilling effect of the perception in the State
of Arizona towards immigrants and Hispanics, including the passage of [the]
SB 1070″ law, contributed to the chain’s financial problems, company
officials said in court papers.
Both chains said they were the target of workplace audits from ICE, which
conducted more than 3,000 worksite audits in the 2012 fiscal year. That’s
slightly more than the 2,496 audits done the previous year, the agency said
in a news release.
Companies face fines for knowingly hiring and continuing to employ workers
that can’t produce valid work papers. Violations range from $375 to $16,000
each, and such fines tallied to more than $12.4 million during the 2012
fiscal year, the release said.
Neither company’s bankruptcy lawyers explained in court documents whether
the companies had to pay fines in the wake of the audits.
For Mi Pueblo, the cost of replacing workers put it out of compliance with
the restrictions of its $19.6 million loan from Wells Fargo Bank WFC -0.34%,
despite being the “fastest-growing independent supermarket chain in
northern California,” Mr. Harris said in court papers.
Mi Pueblo founder and chief executive Juvenal Chavez grew the chain from a 5
,000-square-foot market in East San Jose he opened in 1991; last year, the
company recorded sales of about $413.3 million, according to court papers.
The chain has expanded in “locations that have been abandoned by large
market grocery chains,” its officials said in court papers.
But when negotiations with Wells Fargo stalled, the company turned to
bankruptcy. The company’s Chapter 11 filing puts the dispute before Judge
Arthur S. Weissbrodt, who has been asked to allow the chain to spend
restricted money to continue paying employees and others throughout the case.
“Failure to approve [that spending] will lead to a disruption in operations
as employees leave, suppliers cease to deliver, and customers become
dissatisfied and shop elsewhere,” Mr. Harris said in court papers. | l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 2 要是ICE能够严格执行法律的话,那么多老墨早就滚蛋了. | l******t
发帖数: 12659 | 3 是啊，有法不依，审查下去，估计也是和irs一个路数
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: 要是ICE能够严格执行法律的话,那么多老墨早就滚蛋了.
| T*********I
发帖数: 10729 | |
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