2 are charged with selling IDs tied to Swift raid

The first of two defendants charged with selling other people's identities in connection with last December's immigration raid at a Hyrum meat processing plant is scheduled to appear in federal court today.

Eleuterio Gutierrez of El Paso, Texas, who faces charges pf identity theft and sale of citizenship papers, is expected to plead guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell. Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined to comment on any potential plea agreement until after the hearing.

Another defendant, Veronica Carrillo of Logan, is scheduled for a similar hearing on May 2. Both are being held at the Weber County Jail.

The two never worked at the Hyrum Swift & Co. plant where federal agents arrested 158 people late last year as part of a multistate immigration enforcement that netted 1,297 arrests. However, a federal indictment alleges that Gutierrez and Carrillo provided false documents to workers at the plant.

Gutierrez, who was arrested in Texas in late January, is accused of sending, via mail, two fraudulent Illinois birth certificates and Social Security cards to Carrillo, who is accused of selling the documents to undercover agents and arranging for the purchase of another person's identity.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been stepping up enforcement efforts at work sites in recent years, targeting businesses and business owners with repeated violations, said Virginia Kice, agency spokeswoman. There haven't been any such recent cases in Utah, Kice said, noting that Swift hasn't been charged. However there have been cases in other states. Last month, two top executives for the Golden State Fence company in Riverside, Calif., were sentenced to 180 days of home confinement along with probation and fines. The company also forfeited $4.7 million.

Brett Tolman, U.S. attorney for Utah, said resources are being devoted to immigration cases such as aggravated re-entry, when people re-enter the country illegally after being deported.

"I don't have an interest in trying to crack down on illegal immigrants just because they are illegal," he said.

However, Tolman said if his office becomes aware of companies "abusing the system, with continual abuses, we're obligated to crack down."

Prosecuting identity theft cases such as the Swift case is a priority and considered separate from immigration violations, Tolman said.