Julio Gordo

Then, after a year on the job, Julio Gordo, a manager at Peco Foods, called Esteban into his office. (To protect his identity, Julio Gordo is a pseudonym.) According to Esteban, Gordo told him that the Social Security Administration had notified Peco Foods that Esteban's Social Security Number had repeated as a number for another worker.

At first, Esteban feared he would be fired by the plant and deported for document fraud - a fate not uncommon among undocumented workers."Gordo told me he could have the cops here in five minutes if I didn't cooperate with him," Esteban confided to me later.

The no-match crisis: threats in the guise of favors

When I first met Esteban during the hottest days of last summer, he was reluctant to talk about hanging chickens, Peco Foods, Social Security Numbers, or anything else other than the new car he had bought with Peco wages.
...
After Gordo allegedly threatened to deport Esteban, he reassured him that he could stay on at the plant if he could get a new ID and Social Security Number.Esteban knew this would be difficult; fake documents cost hundreds of dollars and were sold by only a handful of people in southern Mississippi on the black market.Furthermore, Esteban knew he would run the risk of being fired or deported if he bought a new Social Security Number, since he would be admitting his old one was false.Even with a new I.D., his seniority - including the two raises he had received for a year's work - would be revoked.Esteban would be starting over from scratch.

Then, according to Esteban, Gordo told him he was willing to do him a "favor": Esteban could buy a new Social Security Card from Gordo for $700.This was a favor Gordo had done for many other Mexicans in the same situation, he claimed.Still, the news came at a bad time: Esteban was trying to pay off traffic tickets and send money back to his family in Veracruz.He simply didn't have the cash to pay off his supervisor.When Gordo also demanded that Esteban arrange a date for him with Esteban's female cousin after work as a return "favor," Esteban decided he had had enough. (In a conversation with a union representative, Gordo vehemently denied that he ever offered to "sell" documents to employees).
...
The day we visited, workers came out of their trailers to tell similar stories about Gordo first charging them to obtain jobs and then, after informing them of a Social Security "no-match" letter, demanding additional payment for providing new documents.
...
Carney's union, LIUNA Local 693, had recently succeeded in ousting one manager accused of charging immigrants to obtain jobs and his replacement - Gordo - was turning out to be even more problematic.Carney began to wonder if Gordo's purported strategy of selling counterfeit documents to immigrants who had shown up as "no-matches" in the SSA's database extended to higher level managers in the company, and perhaps outside the plant.
...
After Esteban was fired weeks later, Carney called Peco Foods' plant manager and threatened to file a grievance for a breach of the union contract unless the worker was reinstated and Gordo was fired.
...
The workers were simply told - and sometimes urged on the spot - to sign the company's letter and return it to Gordo as soon as possible.
...
Workers reported that when Gordo learned of the meeting, he became furious and told them they "would pay a price" and that "the union couldn't help them."
...
Surprisingly, days, then weeks went by, and Gordo took no action.

Then, after a year on the job, Julio Gordo, a manager at Peco Foods, called Esteban into his office. (To protect his identity, Julio Gordo is a pseudonym.) According to Esteban, Gordo told him that the Social Security Administration had notified Peco Foods that Esteban's Social Security Number had repeated as a number for another worker.

At first, Esteban feared he would be fired by the plant and deported for document fraud - a fate not uncommon among undocumented workers."Gordo told me he could have the cops here in five minutes if I didn't cooperate with him," Esteban confided to me later.
...
After Gordo allegedly threatened to deport Esteban, he reassured him that he could stay on at the plant if he could get a new ID and Social Security Number.Esteban knew this would be difficult; fake documents cost hundreds of dollars and were sold by only a handful of people in southern Mississippi on the black market.Furthermore, Esteban knew he would run the risk of being fired or deported if he bought a new Social Security Number, since he would be admitting his old one was false.Even with a new I.D., his seniority - including the two raises he had received for a year's work - would be revoked.Esteban would be starting over from scratch.

Then, according to Esteban, Gordo told him he was willing to do him a "favor": Esteban could buy a new Social Security Card from Gordo for $700.This was a favor Gordo had done for many other Mexicans in the same situation, he claimed.Still, the news came at a bad time: Esteban was trying to pay off traffic tickets and send money back to his family in Veracruz.He simply didn't have the cash to pay off his supervisor.When Gordo also demanded that Esteban arrange a date for him with Esteban's female cousin after work as a return "favor," Esteban decided he had had enough. (In a conversation with a union representative, Gordo vehemently denied that he ever offered to "sell" documents to employees).
...
The day we visited, workers came out of their trailers to tell similar stories about Gordo first charging them to obtain jobs and then, after informing them of a Social Security "no-match" letter, demanding additional payment for providing new documents.
...
Carney's union, LIUNA Local 693, had recently succeeded in ousting one manager accused of charging immigrants to obtain jobs and his replacement - Gordo - was turning out to be even more problematic.Carney began to wonder if Gordo's purported strategy of selling counterfeit documents to immigrants who had shown up as "no-matches" in the SSA's database extended to higher level managers in the company, and perhaps outside the plant.
...
After Esteban was fired weeks later, Carney called Peco Foods' plant manager and threatened to file a grievance for a breach of the union contract unless the worker was reinstated and Gordo was fired.
...
The workers were simply told - and sometimes urged on the spot - to sign the company's letter and return it to Gordo as soon as possible.
...
Workers reported that when Gordo learned of the meeting, he became furious and told them they "would pay a price" and that "the union couldn't help them."
...
Surprisingly, days, then weeks went by, and Gordo took no action.

Then, after a year on the job, Julio Gordo, a manager at Peco Foods, called Esteban into his office. (To protect his identity, Julio Gordo is a pseudonym.) According to Esteban, Gordo told him that the Social Security Administration had notified Peco Foods that Esteban's Social Security Number had repeated as a number for another worker.

At first, Esteban feared he would be fired by the plant and deported for document fraud - a fate not uncommon among undocumented workers."Gordo told me he could have the cops here in five minutes if I didn't cooperate with him," Esteban confided to me later.

The no-match crisis: threats in the guise of favors

When I first met Esteban during the hottest days of last summer, he was reluctant to talk about hanging chickens, Peco Foods, Social Security Numbers, or anything else other than the new car he had bought with Peco wages.
...
After Gordo allegedly threatened to deport Esteban, he reassured him that he could stay on at the plant if he could get a new ID and Social Security Number.Esteban knew this would be difficult; fake documents cost hundreds of dollars and were sold by only a handful of people in southern Mississippi on the black market.Furthermore, Esteban knew he would run the risk of being fired or deported if he bought a new Social Security Number, since he would be admitting his old one was false.Even with a new I.D., his seniority - including the two raises he had received for a year's work - would be revoked.Esteban would be starting over from scratch.

Then, according to Esteban, Gordo told him he was willing to do him a "favor": Esteban could buy a new Social Security Card from Gordo for $700.This was a favor Gordo had done for many other Mexicans in the same situation, he claimed.Still, the news came at a bad time: Esteban was trying to pay off traffic tickets and send money back to his family in Veracruz.He simply didn't have the cash to pay off his supervisor.When Gordo also demanded that Esteban arrange a date for him with Esteban's female cousin after work as a return "favor," Esteban decided he had had enough. (In a conversation with a union representative, Gordo vehemently denied that he ever offered to "sell" documents to employees).
...
The day we visited, workers came out of their trailers to tell similar stories about Gordo first charging them to obtain jobs and then, after informing them of a Social Security "no-match" letter, demanding additional payment for providing new documents.
...
Carney's union, LIUNA Local 693, had recently succeeded in ousting one manager accused of charging immigrants to obtain jobs and his replacement - Gordo - was turning out to be even more problematic.Carney began to wonder if Gordo's purported strategy of selling counterfeit documents to immigrants who had shown up as "no-matches" in the SSA's database extended to higher level managers in the company, and perhaps outside the plant.
...
After Esteban was fired weeks later, Carney called Peco Foods' plant manager and threatened to file a grievance for a breach of the union contract unless the worker was reinstated and Gordo was fired.
...
The workers were simply told - and sometimes urged on the spot - to sign the company's letter and return it to Gordo as soon as possible.
...
Workers reported that when Gordo learned of the meeting, he became furious and told them they "would pay a price" and that "the union couldn't help them."
...
Surprisingly, days, then weeks went by, and Gordo took no action.
...
Then, after a year on the job, Julio Gordo, a manager at Peco Foods, called Esteban into his office. (To protect his identity, Julio Gordo is a pseudonym.) According to Esteban, Gordo told him that the Social Security Administration had notified Peco Foods that Esteban's Social Security Number had repeated as a number for another worker.

At first, Esteban feared he would be fired by the plant and deported for document fraud - a fate not uncommon among undocumented workers."Gordo told me he could have the cops here in five minutes if I didn't cooperate with him," Esteban confided to me later.

The no-match crisis: threats in the guise of favors

When I first met Esteban during the hottest days of last summer, he was reluctant to talk about hanging chickens, Peco Foods, Social Security Numbers, or anything else other than the new car he had bought with Peco wages.
...
After Gordo allegedly threatened to deport Esteban, he reassured him that he could stay on at the plant if he could get a new ID and Social Security Number.Esteban knew this would be difficult; fake documents cost hundreds of dollars and were sold by only a handful of people in southern Mississippi on the black market.Furthermore, Esteban knew he would run the risk of being fired or deported if he bought a new Social Security Number, since he would be admitting his old one was false.Even with a new I.D., his seniority - including the two raises he had received for a year's work - would be revoked.Esteban would be starting over from scratch.

Then, according to Esteban, Gordo told him he was willing to do him a "favor": Esteban could buy a new Social Security Card from Gordo for $700.This was a favor Gordo had done for many other Mexicans in the same situation, he claimed.Still, the news came at a bad time: Esteban was trying to pay off traffic tickets and send money back to his family in Veracruz.He simply didn't have the cash to pay off his supervisor.When Gordo also demanded that Esteban arrange a date for him with Esteban's female cousin after work as a return "favor," Esteban decided he had had enough. (In a conversation with a union representative, Gordo vehemently denied that he ever offered to "sell" documents to employees).
...
The day we visited, workers came out of their trailers to tell similar stories about Gordo first charging them to obtain jobs and then, after informing them of a Social Security "no-match" letter, demanding additional payment for providing new documents.
...
Carney's union, LIUNA Local 693, had recently succeeded in ousting one manager accused of charging immigrants to obtain jobs and his replacement - Gordo - was turning out to be even more problematic.Carney began to wonder if Gordo's purported strategy of selling counterfeit documents to immigrants who had shown up as "no-matches" in the SSA's database extended to higher level managers in the company, and perhaps outside the plant.
...
After Esteban was fired weeks later, Carney called Peco Foods' plant manager and threatened to file a grievance for a breach of the union contract unless the worker was reinstated and Gordo was fired.
...
The workers were simply told - and sometimes urged on the spot - to sign the company's letter and return it to Gordo as soon as possible.
...
Workers reported that when Gordo learned of the meeting, he became furious and told them they "would pay a price" and that "the union couldn't help them."
...
Surprisingly, days, then weeks went by, and Gordo took no action.
...
Then, after a year on the job, Julio Gordo, a manager at Peco Foods, called Esteban into his office. (To protect his identity, Julio Gordo is a pseudonym.) According to Esteban, Gordo told him that the Social Security Administration had notified Peco Foods that Esteban's Social Security Number had repeated as a number for another worker.

At first, Esteban feared he would be fired by the plant and deported for document fraud - a fate not uncommon among undocumented workers."Gordo told me he could have the cops here in five minutes if I didn't cooperate with him," Esteban confided to me later.

The no-match crisis: threats in the guise of favors

When I first met Esteban during the hottest days of last summer, he was reluctant to talk about hanging chickens, Peco Foods, Social Security Numbers, or anything else other than the new car he had bought with Peco wages.
...
After Gordo allegedly threatened to deport Esteban, he reassured him that he could stay on at the plant if he could get a new ID and Social Security Number.Esteban knew this would be difficult; fake documents cost hundreds of dollars and were sold by only a handful of people in southern Mississippi on the black market.Furthermore, Esteban knew he would run the risk of being fired or deported if he bought a new Social Security Number, since he would be admitting his old one was false.Even with a new I.D., his seniority - including the two raises he had received for a year's work - would be revoked.Esteban would be starting ov

Then, after a year on the job, Julio Gordo, a manager at Peco Foods, called Esteban into his office. (To protect his identity, Julio Gordo is a pseudonym.) According to Esteban, Gordo told him that the Social Security Administration had notified Peco Foods that Esteban's Social Security Number had repeated as a number for another worker.

At first, Esteban feared he would be fired by the plant and deported for document fraud - a fate not uncommon among undocumented workers."Gordo told me he could have the cops here in five minutes if I didn't cooperate with him," Esteban confided to me later.
...
After Gordo allegedly threatened to deport Esteban, he reassured him that he could stay on at the plant if he could get a new ID and Social Security Number.Esteban knew this would be difficult; fake documents cost hundreds of dollars and were sold by only a handful of people in southern Mississippi on the black market.Furthermore, Esteban knew he would run the risk of being fired or deported if he bought a new Social Security Number, since he would be admitting his old one was false.Even with a new I.D., his seniority - including the two raises he had received for a year's work - would be revoked.Esteban would be starting over from scratch.

Then, according to Esteban, Gordo told him he was willing to do him a "favor": Esteban could buy a new Social Security Card from Gordo for ,700.This was a favor Gordo had done for many other Mexicans in the same situation, he claimed.Still, the news came at a bad time: Esteban was trying to pay off traffic tickets and send money back to his family in Veracruz.He simply didn't have the cash to pay off his supervisor.When Gordo also demanded that Esteban arrange a date for him with Esteban's female cousin after work as a return "favor," Esteban decided he had had enough. (In a conversation with a union representative, Gordo vehemently denied that he ever offered to "sell" documents to employees).
...
The day we visited, workers came out of their trailers to tell similar stories about Gordo first charging them to obtain jobs and then, after informing them of a Social Security "no-match" letter, demanding additional payment for providing new documents.
...
Carney's union, LIUNA Local 693, had recently succeeded in ousting one manager accused of charging immigrants to obtain jobs and his replacement - Gordo - was turning out to be even more problematic.Carney began to wonder if Gordo's purported strategy of selling counterfeit documents to immigrants who had shown up as "no-matches" in the SSA's database extended to higher level managers in the company, and perhaps outside the plant.
...
After Esteban was fired weeks later, Carney called Peco Foods' plant manager and threatened to file a grievance for a breach of the union contract unless the worker was reinstated and Gordo was fired.
...
The workers were simply told - and sometimes urged on the spot - to sign the company's letter and return it to Gordo as soon as possible.
...
Workers reported that when Gordo learned of the meeting, he became furious and told them they "would pay a price" and that "the union couldn't help them."
...
Surprisingly, days, then weeks went by, and Gordo took no action.