Published: September 9, 2007 6:00 a.m.
Iowa town squeezed in immigration debate
Newcomers revitalize the area, but they are still illegal

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs ... /709090365
By Sharon Cohen Associated Press

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa – Everyone knew they were there, doing dirty and dangerous work in the massive meatpacking plant. They had come a long way – more than 1,000 miles, from impoverished rural Mexico to the lush corn country of the Midwest. Some folks looked the other way, others offered a helping hand.

Then federal agents swept through, and the complicated bargain that Marshalltown had made with illegal immigration was laid bare.

This town in the heart of middle America that has been transformed – even rejuvenated – by immigration stands as a symbol of the agonizing predicaments and pressures faced by many communities today.

“You’re caught in the middle,â€