Kakalec said that the situation was a "labor trafficking" case" and that the workers were "constantly monitored" with dozens of cameras and threatened with fines for breaking rules. Federal law enforcement agents descended on a massive temple in New Jersey on Tuesday after workers accused a prominent Hindu sect of luring them from India, confining them to the temple grounds and paying them the equivalent of about $1 an hour to perform grueling labor in near servitude. Not enough evidence (sure not)? With Ocean Wind 2 . This is how the First Amendment works. The New Jersey temple, or mandir, is itself a multimillion-dollar operation, public records show. None of this is religious work; it is all manual labor for pennies an hour. He even worked in conspiracy theories and Holocaust Denials. The organisation hasalso donated the equivalent of about $290,000 to the construction of the temple in Ayodhya, theNYTreport said. From Wiki: Tulane University history professor Lawrence N. Powell, who read a rare copy of the book given to him by journalist Patsy Sims, wrote that it includes advice on vaginal exercises, oral and anal sex and advocated adultery. But it was contained to 50 health care workers and 31 adult patients at the facility, none of whom developed serious illness or was hospitalized, he said., How the closed pipeline and truck driver shortages could affect N.J. gas pumps, R.I.P. Their passports wereallegedlyimpoundedand they were confined to a fenced, guarded area. The problem is not the system but unscrupulous bad actors. But I cant be the only one who thought this statement odd coming on the heels of months of domestic terror from the far left that we were supposed to accept or even embrace as mostly peaceful protests. Peaceful assemblies which somehow destroyed countless livelihoods, cost over $2 billion and resulted in numerous injuries and deaths? It says such R-1 visas are religious visas available to "those who minister or work in religious vocations or occupations" and are members of the religious denomination sponsoring the visa holders. This construct of law by White people is what creates and perpetuates White Supremacy as defined by CRT. They have to be fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. There are parallels in other places. Excellent point on David Duke. Pein said she was notified by Superintendent George Chidiac through an email following Monday night's school board meeting. Because they have subjective belief systems called religion.. However, the lawyers for the workers say the men were forced to do manual labour on the site and made to work for more than 13 hours a day. In this case, the IRS revoked Bob Jones University 501(c)(3) religious tax exemption due to BJUs ban on interracial dating. "There was a sense of invasion, that sense of loss of privacy when something like this happened to us," Srinivasa Sunkari, a Board member for the Brazos Valley Shri Omkarnath Temple said. India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. In a good week the pay might be $50 which is still only 50 cents per hour. It is being designed by a Gujarat-based family close to Modi that specializes in contemporary Hindu temples, among them one in New Jersey raided last November by the FBI for using forced labor. Murphy visited the Robbinsville temple which aims to be the biggest Hindu temple in the U.S. when he was running in 2017 and visited one of its temples during a 2019 trip to India. "We believe in one god and that all men are created equal," Ranu said. Its a human trafficking story the workers allegedly came over on religious visas for volunteers, had their passports taken an were confined to the grounds a class story and yes, even a political one. Wray responds to FBI critiques over Hunter laptop, Trump raid, Jan 6: We're 'on the American people's side' Wray also responded to criticisms over the arrest of a pro-life activist recently . A majority of the workers were Dalits, said the report. The FBI said in a statement that it was at the temple "on court-authorized law enforcement activity" and that it had no further comment. The Civil Rights Cases (1883) A spokesman for the department did not respond to a request for comment. By signing up you agree to allow POLITICO to collect your user information and use it to better recommend content to you, send you email newsletters or updates from POLITICO, and share insights based on aggregated user information. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email along with 7129 other subscribers. We are not alone in arguing that here is a pervasive and widespread abuse of the First Amendment religious protections. Seats on the advisory board remain open, and members of that board have been unable to meet both because they lacked a quorum and because there is no ombudsman to coordinate with., N.J. What she did outside of that, I have absolutely nothing to do with that. Assemblymember Jamel Holley (D-Union) trying to draw distance between himself and accused Capitol rioter Stephanie Hazelton, who introduced him at a Statehouse anti-vaxx rally as a superstar and once prominently featured a photo with him on her Facebook profile. The workers have been falsely brought to the U.S. on visas for religious workers and volunteers since May 2011, the lawsuit claims. It is not illegal. Where I differ from you is in the conclusion that This is all part of the corrupt system of religion in America. This seems to suggest that our system is to blame for these abuses. THE CHURCH Former Newark Archbishop sexually abused 5-year-old in church rectory, lawsuit claims, by NJ Advance Medias Kelly Heyboer: A former Newark resident went to the Archdiocese of Newark last year with an explosive claim. New Delhi:ASwaminarayan temple in New Jersey, US, was raided by theFederal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security,and the US Department of Labourtoinvestigate allegations of forced labour against Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sansthan (BAPS),reportedThe New York Times. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Kanu Patel, the chief executive of BAPS, who is named as a defendant, told The New York Times, "I respectfully disagree with the wage claim." It looks like this group has connections to both Modi and the Patels. For example, beautiful religious sites can hide a wealth of deviance, rape, criminality, human trafficking, suicide, and death. We are naturally shaken by this turn of events and are sure that once the full facts come out, we will be able to provide answers and show that these accusations and allegations are without merit, Mr. Joshi said. NEW JERSEY (Diya TV) Federal authorities in New Jersey are accusing the highly influential Hindu organization BAPS of human trafficking and wage violations. They were given $450 a month $50 in hand and $400 deposited to their bank accounts in India. This is our secret. The New Jersey Independent Victim Compensation Program, a board created by the Catholic Church to settle abuse claims out of court, reviewed the womans allegations last year, her attorney said. ***** A massive Hindu temple in New Jersey brought some 200 workers from India to the US on R-1 visas as religious volunteers, but forced them to work on illegally low wages, a class action. She went to America and into the Sea Org where no child belongs. New Direction New Jersey, which is organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the federal tax code, quietly disclosed all of its donations and spending to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission in February. The Hindu Temple of Dayton is a Hindu temple in Beavercreek, Ohio. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart! The New York Times: The workers, who lived in trailers hidden from view, had been promised jobs helping to build the temple in rural Robbinsville, N.J., with standard work hours and ample time off, according to the lawsuit, a wage claim filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. The New Jersey temple is meant to be the crown jewel in BAPSs growing number of American places of worship. Hindu Temple Listings ISKCON of Central New Jersey 1020 W 7th St, Plainfield, Plainfield , New Jersey 7063 Hindu Temple. Hicks also defended his departments soaring overtime costs before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, OFFICIALS STRUGGLE TO INTRODUCE NEW JERSEYANS TO NOVEL CONCEPT OF BRIBERY With NJ COVID vaccine goal at risk, 'bribe people' an option to get more shots in arms, by The Records Scott Fallon and Kristie Kattafi: New Jersey's daily rate of COVID vaccinations has plummeted so much in recent weeks that it's casting doubt on whether Gov. 7. FBI agents and other law enforcement officials raided the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, NJ, following a lawsuit by several workers accusing the temple of exploiting them and paying the equivalent of roughly $1.20 an hour. Mukesh Kumar,37,was among the 200 construction workers flownoutto the US by BAPS in 2018. To explore the site, enjoy the video below. Cumming v. Richmond (1899) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4325293. This is why Martha Stewart cannot serve on the Board of her own company. It seems like a joke but it isnt: Religion is a deadly serious activity as one practitioner of the business of religion remarked. 3. Bloody hell Jeff, the parallels to the $sci. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville Township, N.J., on Tuesday. Across the road is a worship center for the Sikh community. Passports were confiscated, and workers were confined to the guarded compound, the suit alleges. ), and finally trusting in the durable comfort zone of the party line.. Early Tuesday, federal agents entered those marble walls. To learn more, visit BAPS.org. Kakaleck says her clients worked long hours without days off between 2018 and 2020, performing hard manual labor and earned about $1.20 an hour. The Second Amendment gives Americans the right to own as many assault weapons as they can afford. The workers, who lived in trailers hidden from view, had been promised jobs helping to build the temple in rural Robbinsville, N.J., with standard work hours and ample time off, according to the lawsuit, a wage claim filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. IMO, generalizing the abuse of the system actually gives undeserved credence to a pseudo-religion such as scientology. The Church of Scientology has for seven decades used this same pattern of human trafficking and forced labor while calling it religious. The temple is located at 112 North Main Street, Robbinsville. At least three federal agencies the F.B.I., the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor were involved in the action early Tuesday, which was said to be connected to the claims of labor and immigration law violations, according to three people familiar with the matter. The lawsuit said the mens passports had been confiscated, and they were confined to the fenced-in and guarded site, where they were forbidden from talking to visitors and religious volunteers. 5. Did the mayor issue a graceful concession statement attesting to his willingness to work this out with the residents who like his own constituents like to go to the beach on occasion? This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. These elected officials are, in turn, beholden to these voting blocs on issues of abortion, race, immigration, guns, education, and every other issue. 11. Please enter valid email address to continue. Benny Hinn can blow on people and declare that they are healed. He told the newspaper that he was not in charge of day-to-day operations at the site. As such, they do not have to be paid any money at all. The lawsuit, filed by six named workers in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, says at least 200 Indian nationals who work or have worked at the temple in Robbinsville would be part of the class. Believers feel these intangibles confer a benefit upon them and so they donate money and deduct that donation from their income tax. However, Jeffs still leads FLDS from prison. They were brought to the United States on religious visas, or R-1 visas temporary visas used for clergy and lay religious workers such as missionaries and presented to the U.S. government as volunteers, according to the claim. A "masterpiece of exquisite Indian design and workmanship" is how the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is described on its website. Inside Newarks affordable housing crisis, $15M in rent, utilities assistance coming to [Essex Countys] tenants, Bayonne council pres. VIDEO: Finally, Scientific Proof that Scientologys Body Thetans Cannot Exist! Her firm describes this as one of the largest forced labor cases in decades and seeks back wages in accordance to New Jersey's minimum wage. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. But given the number of religious people in the US (since were talking about US Law, Ill leave it at that) and the immense good done by well-meaning and sincere religious people and institutions, I would still argue that this amounts to an argument by exceptions. As reported by American Bazaar, the raid on the temple was conducted by three US Federal agencies including the FBI: One of President Obamas answers was to have the US government purchase as much ammunition as possible form manufacturers and thereby cut off the supply of bullets to these groups. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The organisation has, however, denied all allegations, and in astatement said they are thoroughly reviewing the issues raised. The US Governments indifferent and laissez-faire approach to the intrinsic religious racism in America was challenged in the 1982 court case Bob Jones University v. The United States. Ah, so not only is your Aryan (if they can define that) Princess supposed to cook, clean, rear children, help with the crops, and respond to all your desires, she also has to learn Kegels. United States v. Thind (1923) Weeks before the FBI raided a New Jersey temple in May, the agency reached out to multiple local charitable organizations with a message: We are going to need your help in the aftermath of. 8. If you study religious litigation in America, the same type of lawsuits are filed over and over and the courts almost always refuse to interfere. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. The fact that this beautiful building . The FBI was at a massive Hindu temple in New Jersey on Tuesday that has been accused in a lawsuit of luring Indian men from marginalized communities to the U.S. and forcing them to work. The complaintadded thatthe workers passports had been confiscated, theywere givenlentils and potatoesfor mealsand that their paywas cutfor thesmallestof violations such as being seen without a helmet. Extending it further, Why is David Duke and company always shown with a cross of some form or other? Is there any way we could have done something better in New Jersey?, EDNA MAHAN Despite law, NJ prison oversight on hold, by NJ Spotlights Colleen ODea: To ensure some level of dignity to the incarcerated, legislators last year passed a reform law that gave broad powers to the corrections ombudsman and created an advisory board to assist those efforts. The Bottom Line: If your spiritual enlightenment requires that other human beings suffer and be exploited, then your enlightenment is false and a lie. As of 2021, only 2% of Utah is Black. CBS New York reported on the massive raid on the Swaminarayan Akshardham Hindu temple: Categories: The Scientology Money Project, Tagged as: Church of Scientology, Dalit, FBI raid, Flag Land Base, Hinduism, L. Ron Hubbard, religious worker exploitation, Scientology, Sea Org, Swaminarayan Akshardham temple. Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is a Hindu mandir (temple) complex. New Delhi: A Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey, US, was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Department of Labour to investigate allegations of forced labour against Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sansthan (BAPS), reported The New York Times. Without having gotten into the lawsuit much, my initial impression is that if they did any masonry/cement (as opposed to just manual labor) theyre going to have major Joy-zee problem. Lawyers for the men, however, said they did manual labor on the site, working nearly 13 hours a day lifting large stones, operating cranes and other heavy machinery, building roads and storm sewers, digging ditches and shoveling snow, all for the equivalent of about $450 per month. This same pattern of human trafficking, suicide, and finally trusting in the durable comfort of! 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