Illegal alien roundup in Iowa

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 7/27/2008 4:15:00 AM


Activists who oppose illegal immigration are staging a counter-protest today (July 27) in an Iowa town that was the site of the largest-ever roundup of illegal immigrants at a single location in the United States.



On May 11, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents descended on the eastern Iowa town of Postville and conducted an immigration raid on a plant run by Agriprocessors, Inc. Nearly 400 illegal workers were detained, most of whom came from Guatemala, but also included individuals from Mexico, Israel, and the Ukraine. But the raid created an uproar among church groups, Hispanic activists, and members of Congress who support illegal immigration, and they came to Postville to stage a huge rally to complain about how the raid disrupted the community and tore families apart.

Susan Tully is national field director with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). She points out that the illegal aliens were charged with aggravated identity theft, the unlawful use of a Social Security number, and other crimes. "They're being prosecuted for the felony they committed," Tully contends. "But not one of these members of Congress and not one of these churches is coming out and speaking about this correctly, by pointing out to the people, 'Oh yeah, by the way, they committed felonies' -- and people who commit felonies...break up their families every day of the week when they get prosecuted and sent to jail."

According to Tully, federal agents had another justification for conducting the raid. "The conditions inside this factory, this meat processing plant, were unbelievable," Tully explains. "There was a meth lab operating inside of the plant where the meat's being prepared for the people who are going to consume this kosher, supposed-clean product."

So Tully says FAIR will participate in Sunday's counter-protest in Postville.



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