Armed soldiers stormed multiple 7-Eleven franchise locations early Wednesday morning, January 10, 2018. A group calling themselves ICE claimed responsibility. ICE is part of a larger organization going by the name of U.S. that claims ownership over an expansive swath of North America.
Some 98 of the convenience stores nationwide — from Los Angeles to New York — were targeted by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) whose top official described the raids as a warning to other companies that may have unauthorized employees on their payrolls. (Source)
U.S. operates a protection racket, slave trade, and vast bribery and extortion ring that runs coast to coast, borders Canada to the north, and Mexico to the south. In addition to protection payments of their own, no establishment may open or operate within the territory unless they agree to collect and remit protection payments from their workers.
Tight monitoring of the U.S. border and onerous “work visa” and/or “citizenship” requirements restrict options for employment and income earning opportunities of those that dare enter. Sadly, the risk of breaking U.S. “laws” necessarily limits what can be produced, the amount of pay businesses can offer, and, ultimately, what immigrant workers will receive.
“Today’s actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce,” ICE’s Acting Director Thomas D. Homan said in a statement. “ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable.” (Source)
Protection rackets are common among terror and mob organizations and share the common thread of severe punishment for failure to comply. Kidnapping, isolation in cages, or otherwise restricted contact with loved ones, financial destruction, and, potentially, death, await those unwilling, or unable, to hand over adequate possessions. Cash is preferred.
The coordinated pre-dawn attack, according to one ICE member, was just the beginning of a series of planned assaults that will be taking place against all sizes of establishments, small, medium, and large, anywhere within U.S. territory.
Derek N. Benner, another top ICE official, warned that Wednesday’s raids were “a harbinger of what’s to come.”
“This is what we’re gearing up for this year and what you’re going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters,” Benner, acting head of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, told The Associated Press. “From there, we will look at whether these cases warrant an administrative posture or criminal investigation.”
Benner said they’re not just targeting big companies. “It’s going to be inclusive of everything that we see out there,” he said. (Source)
In addition to ensuring the security of protection payments, raids like these go to satisfy bribery and extortion clientele who seek privilege over other inhabitants of the territory. Specifically, private contractual relationships are considered null and void where adequate compensation protects U.S. benefactors from competition. Spreading fear and intimidation is a useful byproduct of any such operation.
milton churchill 