Raid Could Make Postville a Ghost Town

The immigration raid in Iowa we told you about on Monday is being called one of the largest of its kind in U.S. history.

[GetaLife]

I hope it turns into a ghost town and the owners sit their butt's in prison and all the illegal's get deported.

This is AMERICA and it's turning into a 3rd world country because of all the laws being allowed to be broken.

WAKE UP, AMERICA!

[Packers Rule]

GetaLife wrote:

I hope it turns into a ghost town and the owners sit their butt's in prison and all the illegal's get deported.
This is AMERICA and it's turning into a 3rd world country because of all the laws being allowed to be broken.
WAKE UP, AMERICA!

Most of the people that lived there before they came and still do wish for them to be gone. They have turned this small town into a dump. Send all the illegals home.

[ICERaidReport]

On May 1, 2006, many of my co-workers and I marched in support of immigrant workers in a town in North Carolina that was like Postville. Once, it was headed toward becoming a ghosttown; but the influx of Hispanic workers helped to sustain the local economy and keep the town thriving. My full support goes to the town of Postville and its mayor.

http://raidreport.blogspot.com

[Eric]

Send all of the CRIMINALS back across the Rio Grande where they belong!

Then throw all of the packing plant's management in the slammer where they belong!

[Willy]

Go to Mexico illegally and see what happens to you.

[In da no]

The Mayors a slum lord making a ton of cash renting to illegals! He should get locked up!!!

[LadyinTX]

If Agriprocessors and other meat packing plants across the country would resume paying the excellent wages and benefits which were once paid for these same jobs, native-born U.S.workers from across the country would rush to apply for these jobs, filling Pottsville's homes and schools, once again!

Also, this story does not state whether members of the management who ran this facility both illegally and inhumanely, for both human and animals, will themselves face criminal charges. Let us hope that prosecution is not confined to those worked in physical labor positions only.

[Packers Rule]

LadyinTX wrote:

If Agriprocessors and other meat packing plants across the country would resume paying the excellent wages and benefits which were once paid for these same jobs, native-born U.S.workers from across the country would rush to apply for these jobs, filling Pottsville's homes and schools, once again!
Also, this story does not state whether members of the management who ran this facility both illegally and inhumanely, for both human and animals, will themselves face criminal charges. Let us hope that prosecution is not confined to those worked in physical labor positions only.

Yes, I am sure they will. I believe they have quite a bit on the management. They have made no friends around Postville or the state.

[crooked politicans]

Sounds like the mayor is as crooked as a Juarez cop.
Time for some research and publicity. The way he's coddling these criminals over real citizens, it's clear there's a lot of slime on his pond.
Get busy, start digging and reporting on this slimeball.
On the web,call reporters, tell what you know about this man.
Get loud.

[Jamie Kelso]

It's obvious that the owners of this company knowingly engaged in the racket of bringing in and hiring illegals. All of these owners should be jailed or deported too. What's with the Postville mayor? Is he working for the benefit of Guatamala or America? What a sellout this Robert Penrod is. I wonder how many favors he's gotten from the meat plant owners?

[Dan]

LadyinTX wrote:

If Agriprocessors and other meat packing plants across the country would resume paying the excellent wages and benefits which were once paid for these same jobs, native-born U.S.workers from across the country would rush to apply for these jobs, filling Pottsville's homes and schools, once again!
Also, this story does not state whether members of the management who ran this facility both illegally and inhumanely, for both human and animals, will themselves face criminal charges. Let us hope that prosecution is not confined to those worked in physical labor positions only.

I agree pay a good wage & GOOD hard working LEGAL americans will apply for those jobs. The owners make a KILLING of paying low wages to MEXICANS. Mose meat packing plants do this.

[TopAssistant]

Read about rthe lawsuit filed in 2006 in Texas.
Swift & Company Identity Theft and
Undocumented Immigrant Worker Raid Lawsuit
12/19/06 – CNN TV, Featured on Lou Dobbs Tonight – Interview with Angel Reyes
Swift & Co Employee Lawsuits
In December of 2006, Colorado-based Swift & Company made news around the world when the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents targeted the company’s meatpacking plants in what quickly became the nation’s largest undocumented immigration raid in history.

While the raid brought additional attention to the issue of undocumented immigrant workers in the United States, it also raised a key underlying issue – that of conspiring to use undocumented labor in an effort to artificially depress wages across the board.

Heygood, Orr, Reyes & Bartolomei was featured in newspapers, and in broadcast media around the world when it was announced that we would be representing 18 former workers who fell victim to this wage depression.

The lawsuit seeks $23 million in exemplary damages and the back wages the victims would have received if they had remained employed. Filed in a U.S. District Court in Dallas, the lawsuit claims that Swift engaged in a racketeering conspiracy to manipulate commerce (a violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO)).

Our clients in this case are all legal U.S. residents who formerly worked at the Cactus, Texas Swift meatpacking plant. When the plant opened, wages were near $20 per hour. Now, the average wage has fallen drastically to $12-$13 per hour. It is our contention that undocumented immigrant labor was knowingly used in a deliberate effort to decrease the fair wages of all workers at the Cactus plant.

Immigration is the biggest domestic policy issue the United States faces in the coming years. The world is watching how we handle our immigration policy. We hope that by exposing the extreme profit-driven approach that some of our largest corporations are taking on the immigration issue, our lawsuit can help create movement towards a solution. In the meantime, we will continue to pursue our civil case against Swift. Please click on the links below to learn more about this case and how we’re fighting for our clients’ rights.

This company, like Swift & Company are abusing our laws for profit.