Iowans to congressmen: Stop immigration raids

[cal04]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080727/ap_on_re_us/immigration_raid_meeting

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, D-Ill., Albio Sires, D-N.J., and Joe Baca, D-Calif., 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.

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

[Condem]

1. A fucked situation, cal

These people were just trying to make a living. I live in Iowa City. It's been a nightmare year for us eastern Iowans. Tornado, flood and this. I wish them the best!