Thread: Applicants line up to fill jobs open after plant raid

Applicants line up to fill jobs open after plant raid
Ed Kemp • Hattiesburg American • August 27, 2008

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LAUREL — Howard Industries found itself at the center of activity again Tuesday.



Hundreds of job applicants lined up, eager to take advantage of the sudden job openings at the plant located in Jones County, where the unemployment rate is 6.3 percent.

ICE agents on Monday seized 595 plant workers suspected of being in the country illegally. Several workers, who did not identify themselves, said Tuesday they were working and trying to keep the plant operational in the wake of the sudden loss of co-workers.

They said it was common knowledge many of their co-workers were suspected to be illegal.

It's an idea that maddens Samantha Stevens, 18, of Heidelberg, who was among those who pulled up to Avenue A across from the plant's entrance throughout the day. She said she has been unable to find a job since she graduated from Heidelberg High School in the spring and blames, in part, the willingness of companies to hire illegal workers.

"We were here first. It's not fair for them to have a job," she explained.

Others welcomed the vacancies left by the detained workers.

Gwendolyn Watkins, 40, of Stonewall said she drove 40 miles to Laurel to fill out an application with the electronics maker. She worked at Tower Automotive in Meridian as a production worker for eight months before job cuts in June left her unemployed.

She now hopes to get on at Howard, and said that, while "everyone needs a job," she believes that legal workers should be the priority.

But for Samantha Sanchez, the issue wasn't quite so clear-cut. She filled out her application at the plant, and, in the process, revisited a scene that caused her anguish the previous day. Her husband, Juan Sanchez, a welder, was one of the workers detained in Monday's raid, and she hasn't spoken to him since he called her Monday morning.

She said her husband, who has been living in the United States for 10 years and working on an immigration case for six, was on the verge of achieving permanent residency.

She also spoke to the issue of fairness that has the government secreting her husband and the father of her four children.

"He doesn't drink; he doesn't smoke. He takes care of his kids," she said.

As to why she would return so soon to this place, Sanchez, who's currently unemployed and had previously worked at Howard as a coil winder, said it comes down to dollars and cents.

"I have to feed my family," she said.

Unemployed people in the area should also picket Sanderson Farms with signs that say "Sanderson Farms Employs Illegals." It's a great time to get some positive results.

THERE WILL BE NO AMNESTY!!!

OUR ACCEPTABLE IMMIGRATION REFORM

#1. Secure the Border!!!
#2. Mandate E-Verify for ALL Employees!!!
#3. Mandate E-Verify for ANY Benefit!!!
#4. Stop the Underground Economy!!!
#5. End Birthright Citizenship for Illegals!!!
......and make it retroactive!!!
#6. End Chain Migration!!!
#7. Make English our Official Language!!!
#8. Cut Off Federal Funds to Sanctuary Cities!!

NOTHING MORE!!! NOTHING LESS!!!

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