Blahblahgovernmentprstuntshowofforceblah:

More than 1,200 people were arrested in meatpacking plants in six states during raids that federal officials said amounted to the largest-ever workplace crackdown on illegal immigration.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday the investigation uncovered a “disturbing front” in the war against illegal immigration, in which illegal immigrants are using the identities of U.S. citizens to obtain jobs.

“Violations of our immigration laws and privacy rights often go hand in hand,” he said. “Enforcement actions like this one protect the privacy rights of innocent Americans while striking a blow against illegal immigration.”

The raids at Swift & Co. plants across the country resulted in 1,282 arrests, including 1,217 on immigration charges and 65 on criminal charges such as identity theft. Chertoff said the investigation is continuing into several groups that may have sold identity documents to illegal immigrants.

The arrested workers were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, Laos, Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries.

Gee, wonder what the company thought of that?

Immigration officials last month informed Swift that it would remove unauthorized workers on Dec. 4, but Swift asked a federal judge to prevent agents from conducting the raid, arguing it would cause “substantial and irreparable injury” to its business.

The company estimated a raid would remove up to 40 percent of its 13,000 workers. Greeley-based Swift describes itself as the world’s second-largest meat processor with sales of about $9 billion. […]

No charges were filed against Swift.  In a written statement, President and CEO Sam Rovit said the company has never knowingly hired illegal workers and does not condone the practice. (emphasis mine)

Then how the hell did you end up suspecting such a large percentage of your workforce was illegals?  Oh yeah, I know, because in your mind hiring illegal immigrants is the next best thing to having slaves.