A Canyon County lawsuit claiming four local companies and the former head of the Idaho Migrant Council knowingly hired and helped illegal immigrants was heard Tuesday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle.
The court heard arguments Monday from lawyers representing the county, the companies and a former Idaho Migrant Agency official named in the county's suit. The court is expected to decide in the next few months whether the county's suit, rejected by a U.S. district judge in Boise a year and a half ago, should be heard in that court.
"I don't know how they will rule. It was a long argument," said the county's Chicago-based attorney, Howard Foster. "I would say that the judges were troubled by this case and the implications it could bring about in government agencies suing private businesses."
Foster said he believes the appellate judges "were not comfortable with reasoning Judge Lodge used" in dismissing the case.
The lawsuit, filed in July 2005, accuses Syngenta Seeds, Sorrento Lactalis, Swift Beef and Harris Moran Seed, which together employ hundreds of people in Canyon County, of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The county contends undocumented workers drive up the county's costs of providing social services.
All of the companies have denied the allegations previously, but only a Syngenta spokeswoman was available for comment Tuesday.
"We are confident in our practices that we follow all state and federal requirements," said Anne Burt, spokeswoman for Syngenta Seeds in Washington, D.C. "We will defend ourselves vigorously."
Also named in the county's lawsuit is Albert Pacheco, former executive director of the Idaho Migrant Council — now called the Community Council of Idaho. Foster said Pacheco directed IMC employees to help illegal immigrants enroll in Canyon County's indigent program.
His attorney said she is unsure why Pacheco, who no longer lives in Idaho, was the only individual named in the lawsuit.
"We are confident the 9th Circuit Court will affirm the District Court's dismissal of all claims," said Cynthia Woolley of Ketchum.
U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge dismissed the case in December 2005, saying that Canyon County's claim of higher expenses for services such as indigent medical care, schools and jails, was simply the cost of being a government entity. He dismissed the suit with prejudice, which means it couldn't be refiled.
Canyon County commissioners appealed the decision in January 2006 to the 9th Circuit Court. Their lawsuit was filed under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The RICO Act was enacted in 1970 to fight organized crime but has been applied on a broader basis since the early 1990s.
"Our major concern is what is the county obligated to pay for individuals who have entered the country and already broken the law," said Canyon County Commissioner Dave Ferdinand, who attended Tuesday's hearing in Seattle.
"The federal government has not made it easy for local entities to be solvent."
Sandra Forester: 461-9698
