The City Council agreed today to hold a hearing to look into the specific case of an immigrant construction worker whose boss allegedly reported him to ICE, which then arrested him with the help of Boston Police, after the worker was injured on the job and applied for worker's comp.
City Councilor Josh Zakim, who authored a 2014 ordinance that bans Boston Police from turning anybody over to ICE without a criminal warrant, called for the hearing. He cited the "really troubling claims" in a lawsuit filed against the Tara Construction for the alleged snitching - by the federal Department of Labor. He noted it's pretty bad when a Trump-administration department thinks a company went too far in turning in a worker rather than help him get care for a job-related injury.
Zakim added that beyond the Tara case, he wants to look at ways to improve the Boston Trust Act that he proposed, the council passed unanimously and Mayor Walsh signed. He said that Boston Police have "done an outstanding job implementing the letter of the act," but that after five years, it's time to look at ways to improve it.
He added that the act "makes us all safer," because if immigrants feel they can trust local police, they are more likely to talk to them in investigations into crimes.
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Comments
That’s the Chance You Take When You Break the Law
By Carmella
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 12:26pm
So the man broke the law and stayed here illegally, worked under the table and paid no taxes, and no he complains that he was turned in and the police did their job because his boss was cheap? That’s the chance you take when you jump the border.
You know him?
By anon
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 2:37pm
How do you know that he paid no taxes?
As for your job, well, break a leg!
Sounds like a good system
By fungwah
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 3:27pm
If someone breaks one law, people should definitely be free to take any action against them they want, even that action would otherwise be illegal! I'm glad you're encouraging people to start breaking headlights if someone parks in the bike lane - that's what they get for breaking the law, right?
Just Come Here Legally
By Carmella
Fri, 03/15/2019 - 7:17am
A man robs a bank, gets caught, and we have a hearing on the fact that the teller didn’t move fast enough in handing over the money as the reason the man got caught. Why not just come here legally and avoid all of this nonsense?
A man robs a bank...
By fungwah
Fri, 03/15/2019 - 11:10am
and anyone who sees it should be able to burn his house down, right? That's what he gets for robbing a bank, after all. This is definitely a good idea and not something we got rid of decades ago because we realized that extending legal protections even to people who've committed crimes was the moral thing to do (and better to make sure crimes actually got solved).
For obvious reasons if you've been anywhere close to the system.
By Bob Leponge
Sat, 03/16/2019 - 5:41pm
Because we've made it unreasonably difficult to come here legally. Not just specifically through legislation, but through a million petty bureaucratic actions.
You often can't make an appointment to talk to consular officials, so you need to take a day off from work, travel to where the consulate is, and if they don't see you that day, then you need to travel home, take another day off from work, and try again.
You can't show up, take a number, and then go around the corner and sit on the park bench until it's your turn to be seen. You need to stand in line. In the rain.
When you show up, if one of your documents is not in order, they send you away. "Q: Can you at least look at the rest of my documents and tell me everything that's wrong, so that I can get them all fixed before I come back?" "A: No."
Truth
By perruptor
Sat, 03/16/2019 - 7:43pm
This is full of truth, and it's even more arbitrary than that. Even if all of your supporting documents are letter-perfect, the person taking them (who is often not an American, either) can reject your application out of hand. They are sometimes directed to reject all applications that day, and they don't have to give a reason. You have no recourse. American friends of yours have little power to help, even if they appeal to their Congresspersons. The power to issue visas is wholly granted to the State Department, which is Constitutionally independent from Congressional influence. The exception to that is, as usual, if your American friends are sufficiently wealthy. Boeing has always been able to get visas granted to Chinese engineers and scientists they wanted to hire, even when no other Chinese were being granted visas. (Washington Senator Henry Jackson was widely referred to as "the Senator from Boeing" for his many services to the company, including expedition of visas.)
No taxes?
By KellyJMF
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 4:45pm
Except for Social Security and Medicare and any other withholding, none of which he gets back. Plus sales tax.
The worker IS authorized to work in the United States
By OriginallyFromD...
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:38pm
Wishing him luck on his worker's comp suit and his pursuit of legal immigration status in the U.S.
(Link source: https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/02/28/retaliation-l...)
That's the Soviet way
By Bob Leponge
Sat, 03/16/2019 - 1:07am
... enact a bunch of restrictive laws that nobody complains about because they're never enforced, to the point that at any given moment, any given ordinary person is in violation of 28 laws, and then, once you decide you don't like someone, arrest and prosecute him.
At What Point Are People Responsible for Themselves?
By Carmella
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 12:29pm
That’s like knowingly cheating on your taxes, then blaming it on the fact that you have a shitty accountant.
Please tell the class
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 9:22pm
How much you pay in taxes.
I have a hunch that you are getting money out of the system, and at least some of that is paid in by people who pay taxes but can't claim the refunds.
Here's a MAJOR Newsflash: UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS PAY LOTS AND LOTS OF TAXES! At the very least, you don't get any break on sales taxes!!!!!!! Duh!
Citation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2016/10...
Sorry to bother your trite ignorant brain with facts and reality ...
[img]https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%...
A better analogy
By Bob Leponge
Sat, 03/16/2019 - 1:08am
A better analogy would be buying a bottle of Scotch at the New Hampshire State Liquor store on the way back from your skiing trip, and then complaining when you get thrown in jail for interstate liquor smuggling.
Legal question: is the guy
By Refugee
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 1:02pm
Legal question: is the guy eligible for worker's comp after being deported?
Probably.
By Pete Nice
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 1:05pm
But this company didn't even have workers comp. So I would assume they have to pay him for lost wages. But if the guy committed fraud (from what the company is alleging), then I don't know.
Tough call...
By Friartuck
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 8:30pm
That would seem difficult if he wasn't working under a legit soc security number but not an arty here.
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