Thread: IA: Iowans to congressmen: Stop immigration raids

Iowans to congressmen: Stop immigration raids
By HENRY C. JACKSON (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
July 26, 2008 7:42 PM EDT

POSTVILLE, Iowa - An immigration raid that arrested nearly 400 people in northeastern Iowa scarred a small town and tore families apart, residents said Saturday.

Dozens begged a visiting congressional delegation to do everything in its power to stop federal immigration raids. The May raid in Postville at Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials was the largest of its kind in U.S. history.

Reps. Luis Gutierrez, Albio Sires, and Joe Baca, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, heard three hours of often emotional testimony. Women whose husbands are being detained talked about their longing to be reunited, underage workers detailed deplorable working conditions and city and religious officials lamented the impact on the community.

The speakers alternated between sharp criticism of immigration officials and the Department of Homeland Security for launching what they called an inhumane raid, and at their former employer, Agriprocessors, which they said took advantage of workers and allowed unsafe conditions. Many said they were equally responsible for the situation.

By the end, Gutierrez said he had heard enough.

"This is wrong," he said. "We've taken men and women who want to work and made felons out of them."

Gilda Yolanda Ordonez Lopez, 17, wept as she described working 12-hour shifts with no overtime pay.

When Adolpho Wilson was an employee at the plant, he was cleaning an unplugged meat grinding machine when someone turned it on by mistake, he said.

"I shouted, I screamed. I said, 'Help me, help me!'" Wilson said in Spanish. "When they heard me, they took apart the machine, but it had eaten my hand."

Jerry Messer, a local union official with the United Food and Commercial Workers, said Agriprocessors should be punished.

"The family that owns that place, they're the ones who should be prosecuted," he said. "They're the ones who should be deported, not the workers."

Phone messages left with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Agriprocessors by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.

Postville Mayor Robert Penrod told the congressmen to take the message back to Washington that immigration raids do not work.

"This raid did nothing for this community," he said. "It downgraded us substantially. It caused people to suffer, and it caused our reputation to suffer clear across the country."
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By the end, Gutierrez said he had heard enough.

"This is wrong," he said. "We've taken men and women who want to work and made felons out of them."

There is no right for a non-national to work in the US Rep Gutierrez.
A lot of people outside the country would likely 'want to work [here]' as well, but we don't just let anybody do that. How about those IAs that were working using falsified or stolen documents (SSNs)? That *IS* a felony Mr. Gutierrez.

"The family that owns that place, they're the ones who should be prosecuted," he said. "They're the ones who should be deported, not the workers."

I loved this line. Where was Raul Grijalva? He didn't make the sob story trip with his buddies?

This guy Jackson begins editorializing from the first line. What he means is that complaints were being made by resident illegal aliens and the disloyal American profiteers. With a panel like Guttierez, Sires and Baca I really doubt the got a representative group from the town to show up. The unemployed American citizens should have had those jobs.

With fools like these in Congress, no wonder they are polling around 9% approval rating. My suggestion is to deport these congressmen that are not acting in the interest of the American people. One question: before the import of all these illegals, who did the work at the packing plant?

Where the hell was the other side at ? I would say they are too scared to voice thier opinion because they know they would be labeled racists and hate mongers.

I still think the best way to handle this would be to start putting owners and managers in jail as well as deporting the illegals.Once these greedy owners see that they are going to have to pay for thier crimes then maybe this madness will stop.

I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH; CLOSE THE BORDER, VOTE NEW INTO THE GOVERNMENT THAT WILL CLOSE THE BORDERS AND SHUT DOWN EMPLOYERS HIRING ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIENS.

It is wrong for them to take jobs from americans that have kids to feed.Everytime there is a raid and the next week americans line up to get a chance at that job-constuction sites,landscaping,certain restuarants will not even hire americans-they say they are not hiring-this is in greensboro-DH GRIIFIN in greensboro,NC (I have the email)told me that if they have to hire blacks and whites "they might as well go home" and lectured me that americans need to teach thier children to want to work.Call places in your area that seem to only hire non english speakers and ask about work -also if you go by, the applications have a pattern-they ask very little information-if they tell you they are not hiring call back a couple of days later from another number and say that you are a contractor and you have a couple of "migrant " workers that need work and you are from out of state and they wish to stay here-8 of 10 of the places that told you they had no work 2 days before will say "send them over" I have done this about 50 times

Dozens begged a visiting congressional delegation to do everything in its power to stop federal immigration raids.

WHy is it they aren't meeting with their congressman ?

July 27, 2008 Citizens Set to Demonstrate in Postville in Favor of Immigration Enforcement In addition to Iowans, supporters of immigration enforcement will travel to Postville from Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and New Jersey.

"We will be there on Sunday to show that millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules applaud efforts to finally enforce our nation's immigration laws," said Susan Tully, national field director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR is the nation's largest immigration reform organization, with some 250,000 members nationwide.

The demonstration in favor of ICE enforcement is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. at the Postville City Hall at 145 S. Lawler Street. Susan Tully will be in Postville on Sunday to coordinate the demonstration in support of the ICE enforcement efforts. She will be available to speak to the media to present the pro-enforcement viewpoint.
http://tinyurl.com/6fajh7