Immigration Officials Raid Iowa Meatpacking Plant, Detaining Hundreds

[pstans]

My heart sank when I heard about the immigration raids that happened this afternoon in Postville, a small NE Iowa town. More than 300 people have been arrested so far and are being detained at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, which was leased by Homeland Security at the beginning of the month. Aides to Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) have said they've been told around 600-700 people are expected to be arrested.

Living in Marshalltown, where immigration raids took place back in December 2006, I have seen the effects of immigration raids firsthand. I feel for the children and families of those detained and the community of Postville.

The raid today in Postville will likely devastate the local economy. Marshalltown has a population 10 times larger than Postville. In the Marshalltown raid, nearly 100 people were arrested, while many more people are expected to be arrested in Postville.

The effects in the small community won't just be financially. The emotional damage from having fathers, mothers, grandpas, grandmas, and cousins being detained miles from home at a site designed to hold cattle will last generations.

[EFerrari]

1. We're going to look back at these raids with shame and regret. n/t

[RedCappedBandit]

2. Already do. nt

[Hobarticus]

3. Q: Why is Homeland Security running immigration busts?

Don't we already have gov't agencies better suited to do this kind of thing?

[EFerrari]

4. They're all under the HLS umbrella now, aren't they? n/t

[pstans]

5. Good question

Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) is part of Homeland Security. The question is why are they spending tons of money in Iowa while they are leaving our ports unsecure and so on.

[Hobarticus]

6. My point exactly...true story

I found out several years ago that my old neighbor was busted for child pornography.

Guess who busted him, in an elaborate multi-state task force's sting? Homeland Security.

Now, don't get me wrong, people like that need to be busted....but WTF is Homeland Security doing busting child pornographers? In my wildest stretch of logic, I cannot draw a parallel between child pornography and threats to national security.

What, making our ports and airports safe, ie. doing the job they were ostensibly created for, isn't "busy work" enough?

[OmahaBlueDog]

10. ..because, as we learned in San Francisco, they monitor ALL the internet traffic.

Not just the correspondence of suspected terrorists.

Don't worry, though -- if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.

[Hobarticus]

11. Hoo boy...

THAT makes me feel better.

[Selatius]

15. When did the US turn into the USSR?

It's getting to the point where I wonder if we truly are no better off as far as freedom from an omnipotent government than the East Germans were under the STASI.

[Subdivisions]

7. Now we know why they seized the

National Cattle Congress Fairgrounds.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/18573909.html

[murielm99]

8. Are they detaining the employers, who in all likelihood

knew that they were hiring illegals? Are they being held in cattle pens alongside the illegals? If not, why not?

[OmahaBlueDog]

13. Letter of the law v. Spirit of the law

You'll not be surprised to learn that every illegal filled out all of the necessary paperwork and produced a Green Card (hence the identity theft charges). Agriprocessors will be shocked -- SHOCKED to find out they have illegal workers -- just as Claude Raines was shocked Humphrey Bogart had a casino in "Casablanca."

[MercutioATC]

9. Were the people arrested in the States illegaly?

[EFerrari]

14. No, it took a lot of thoughtful policymaking and management winking

for them to be arrested lawfully.

It used to be these round ups only happened on payday. Times have changed.

[OmahaBlueDog]

12. To be fair

Agriprocessors does not have the world's most sterling reputation. Although I have no reason to believe, at this time based on what I've read, that they have done anything illegal, many would not be surprised to hear that "In the Marshalltown raid, nearly 100 people were arrested, while many more people are expected to arrested in Postville."

This is the Wikipedia entry on the company, which is brief, but gives a high level overview of what I'm talking about:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriprocessors

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature7/?fs=www3.nationalgeographic.com&fs=plasma.nationalgeographic.com

Postville is an interesting town that I'm actually looking forward to visiting. It is surreally cosmopolitan in rural Iowa. Agriprocessors is an Orthodox Jewish Kosher slaughter facility, so this little rural Iowa town has rabbis walking about, Mexican restaurants, and businesses blaring Radio Israel.