Postville Update--HR worker Pleads Guilty
Yesterday Karina Pilar Freund, the former Agriprocessors' human resources employee, did in fact plead guilty. However, as I had speculated, it sounds like Ms. Freund benefited from some degree of prosecutorial leniency. Under the original conspiracy to harbor charge Freund could have faced a maximum of 5 years imprisonment. Instead, yesterday at the Federal Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, IA, Freund pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors to a misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting a pattern or practice of hiring undocumented immigrants. I believe this would fall under the IRCA misdemeanor violations, probably 8 USC section 1324(a)(f). According to her attorney, Mark Brown, Freund will now face a maximum sentence of up to 6 months in prison and a fine of up to $3,000.00 for each unauthorized immigrant involved in the offense.
I certainly don't mean to create the impression that Freund is getting off lightly. The open-ended "per unauthorized alien" nature of her fines could really add up. And obviously, the prospect of any time spent in jail shouldn't be minimized. To understate things a bit, prison isn't designed to be an enjoyable place. Plus, the news articles indicate that Freund (along with other Agriprocessors officials) is scheduled to go to trial next April on more than 9,000 charges alleging child labor violations at the plant.
