Plant Co-Owner Criticizes INS Practices : Testifies That He and His Workers Were ‘Hostages’ During Raids

A Costa Mesa man testified this week that he and his co-workers “were basically hostages as far as I could see. We couldn’t do anything” on the day 24 immigration agents surrounded his paper box factory, blocked every exit and arrested 20 workers.

During hours of emotional testimony, John Widera and other witnesses at a federal court trial chronicled how the Immigration and Naturalization Service locates and detains suspected illegal aliens.

The trial stems from a lawsuit filed in 1979 by a group of Orange County residents who are U.S. citizens or legal residents of Latin descent. The suit alleges that INS agents violate civil rights by the manner in which they raid factories, homes and public places.

In 1980, U.S. District Judge David W. Williams issued a preliminary injunction barring the INS from entering homes and businesses without a search warrant or valid consent. However, in March, 1985, an appeals court reversed a portion of the order.

Two months ago, Williams expanded the lawsuit to include all persons of Latin ancestry living in the federal court’s central district jurisdiction, which includes Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Williams is hearing the case without a jury. Throughout the trial, government attorneys have questioned the credibility of the witnesses, who are all U.S. citizens or legal residents.

“They (the plaintiffs) have to show there is a pattern and practice involved and that the agency knew about it,” said George H. Wu, one of two assistant U.S. attorneys representing the INS.

“They haven’t shown it,” said Wu, and “from the information we have, it does not appear the witnesses are telling the truth.”

“Baloney!” responded Peter A. Schey, the plaintiffs’ attorney, in an interview.

“The judge will evaluate the credibility of the witnesses,” he said, adding that the testimony has shown that “Latino people really live in a siege environment,” fearful of apprehension by the INS.

So far, witnesses have described INS visits to Widera’s factory in Pico Rivera, a Fullerton home, the Santa Ana Department of Motor Vehicles office, a Spanish-language radio station in Oxnard and to the Grand Central Market on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

Aggressive Manner Alleged

A common thread throughout the testimony has been the allegedly aggressive manner in which INS agents confront and question people who appear to be of Latin ancestry.

Sandra Gutierrez, a college student from Glendale, described one operation in downtown Los Angeles where, she said, INS agents allegedly grabbed people who appeared to be Latinos by the arm and pulled them over to a van for questioning.

Widera, co-owner of California Box Co. in Pico Rivera, said that INS agents first visited his plant without notice last September. No arrests were made, he said, but after a second visit from agents in October, Widera wrote a letter to INS officials complaining about the agency’s “intimidating” tactics.

Shortly after he sent the letter, his plant was raided again on Nov. 7, 1985, he said.

“I was very upset at the way our people were handled and the unsafe methods they (the INS agents) used,” Widera told the court. He said the INS agents created a safety hazard by leaving heavy equipment running while they interviewed employees in “a very harassing manner.”

“I said: ‘Don’t these people have any rights?” Widera testified. “One agent said to me: ‘We can take anybody we want.’ ” All California Box Co. employees must have valid Social Security cards, but Widera said his attorney advised him not to inquire about their citizenship.

“In my opinion, we had all lawful and legal employees,” he declared.

Widera said he used his home as collateral to post bail for five workers who were arrested. The other 15 workers agreed to be deported.

Four Complaints Filed

Wu and the other government attorneys have said that the witnesses should have filed complaints with the INS before joining in a lawsuit.

In the past two years, there have been four complaints filed in the central district which “assert that an INS agent acted improperly during operations involving a residence, a non-public area of a business or in a temporary detention situation,” according to the government’s trial brief.

Of the four complaints, one was withdrawn and three were investigated by the INS Office of Professional Responsibility and found “not sustainable against the agent involved.” Between 1979 and 1985, immigration agents in the Los Angeles area apprehended about 95,000 aliens in the central district, the brief said.