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Humberto Naba, center, was one of dozens of people from the Hispanic community in Postville who watched a press conference Wednesday at St. Bridget's Catholic Church. His 3-year-old nephew, Cristian Trinidad, front, slept in a pew.
DENNIS MAGEE / Courier Regional Editor
DENNIS MAGEE / Courier Regional Editor
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Postville reeling after raid
By JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD, Courier Staff Writer and DENNIS MAGEE, Courier Regional Editor
POSTVILLE --- Monday's federal immigration raid damaged Postville's schools, businesses, neighborhoods and the fragile relationships forged between the city's diverse cultures, upset residents say.
Community members say they don't understand what the biggest immigration raid on a single site in U.S. history accomplished, if anything.
"Drive around Iowa and there's a lot of dead towns," businessman Gabay Menahn said. "Here it's the same thing, but we've got a heart beating --- it's called Agriprocessors. When you take away the heart, the body dies."
Federal agents arrested 390 workers at Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meat processing plant.
Many in town dealing with the aftermath on Wednesday said the raid took away fathers and mothers who only wanted to be left alone to support their families and replaced relative harmony in the community with fear and suspicion: Rumors floated through town about unmarked Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles on patrol and about car chases and shootings in the wake of the raid.
Volunteers at St. Bridget Catholic Church, where many from the Hispanic community are staying, said many people from the community dropped off food and clothing.
Travis Seibert, a businessman who shares an office with Mehahn, said the population was maturing, replacing young single men --- who tend to cause trouble no matter their ethnic origins. In their place in recent years, hardworking Hispanic families had moved in.
"Over the last few years, we got where the plant was a lot more oriented towards families," he said. "People got along really well. We saw them as neighbors and friends."
Many of those are gone now, he said.
Before Monday's raid, Seibert said, the economy in Postville, population 2,300, was strong. Property values were rising.
Postville's main street had but one vacant building, which opened up only recently.
Some Hispanic storefronts are shuttered, and homes and apartments were abandoned. At GAL Investments, which owns 127 rental units, Menahn said the vacancy rate soared to 75 percent after Monday's raid. With $50,000 monthly payments to make, the company's loans must be frozen to avoid bankruptcy, he added.
Some say the town will struggle but eventually recover. Others claim the raid represents a fatal blow.
"Postville is going to go to hell," Mary Ramos said.
She was picking up the belongings of three friends at an apartment complex in the southeast corner of Postville. She said the trio , exhausted and hungry, arrived on her doorstep Monday night 75 miles away in Dubuque.
"I said 'Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?' They said, 'We ran. We jumped out of the second-story window and we ran.'"
Picking through their personal effects, Ramos told two other women with her to pick up the men's shoes and see if there was room in the car for a microwave. They cleaned on the refrigerator, but left many other items, including mattresses and folding chairs.
Shuffling through a drawer, Ramos found a few pay stubs. Bold letters on the check read "AGRIPROCESSORS, INC. Thanks You." Each showed all three men were making within 25 cents of Iowa's minimum wage.
"Moises was making $7.25 an hour after three years of work," Ramos said.
After a press conference at St. Bridget's Church, Sister Mary McCauley said Agriprocessors bears responsibility for helping create the present situation. She cited safety violations, inappropriate working conditions, long hours and claims the company ignored workers' physical needs.
Despite such allegations, though, many in the community on Wednesday were more likely to blame ICE agents who conducted the raid and politicians who have yet to implement an effective immigration policy.
Dixie Starkey said plenty of the burden should go toward the illegal aliens and the plant's owners. She was moving into a rental property after she found a home that housed two Hispanic families until Monday. In their rush to leave, the families left behind baby bottles and furniture, which the landlord cleared out.
"They got what they asked for. They came here illegally, and knowing they were here illegally, they bring their families over here illegally," she said. "Agri knew they were illegals. It's Agri's own tough luck, too."
Even so, Starkey acknowledged the plant's absence would likely hurt the town, if only temporarily.
"Let's hope Agri can pick up and go on with what happened," she said.
Laverne Wedo, 79, a longtime resident, also blamed the illegal workers and plant owners. He said he assumes everyone in town, including the plant's owners, knew illegal aliens worked in the plant.
"I feel kind of sorry for them in a way, but they should know better, too, I think," he said. "There's other ways to get up here. You don't have to sneak."
But he also said he liked those in the Mexican community, including three young men who live next door. He hasn't seen a another group of Hispanic men that live in a house across the street, he assumed Wednesday that they had fled the area.
"I didn't see any lights on last night," Wedo said.
But the men are still there, said Santiago Salvador, who lives down the street. They've been hiding inside since Monday.
"In past days, I'd walk down the street and say hi to my people. Now my neighbors are gone. It's sad," he said.
Salvador and his family arrived a month ago from Guatemala on tourist visas. They planned to find jobs once they obtained proper paperwork. Now, they intend to go home, perhaps as soon as this weekend.
Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.
Community members say they don't understand what the biggest immigration raid on a single site in U.S. history accomplished, if anything.
"Drive around Iowa and there's a lot of dead towns," businessman Gabay Menahn said. "Here it's the same thing, but we've got a heart beating --- it's called Agriprocessors. When you take away the heart, the body dies."
Federal agents arrested 390 workers at Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meat processing plant.
Many in town dealing with the aftermath on Wednesday said the raid took away fathers and mothers who only wanted to be left alone to support their families and replaced relative harmony in the community with fear and suspicion: Rumors floated through town about unmarked Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles on patrol and about car chases and shootings in the wake of the raid.
Volunteers at St. Bridget Catholic Church, where many from the Hispanic community are staying, said many people from the community dropped off food and clothing.
Travis Seibert, a businessman who shares an office with Mehahn, said the population was maturing, replacing young single men --- who tend to cause trouble no matter their ethnic origins. In their place in recent years, hardworking Hispanic families had moved in.
"Over the last few years, we got where the plant was a lot more oriented towards families," he said. "People got along really well. We saw them as neighbors and friends."
Many of those are gone now, he said.
Before Monday's raid, Seibert said, the economy in Postville, population 2,300, was strong. Property values were rising.
Postville's main street had but one vacant building, which opened up only recently.
Some Hispanic storefronts are shuttered, and homes and apartments were abandoned. At GAL Investments, which owns 127 rental units, Menahn said the vacancy rate soared to 75 percent after Monday's raid. With $50,000 monthly payments to make, the company's loans must be frozen to avoid bankruptcy, he added.
Some say the town will struggle but eventually recover. Others claim the raid represents a fatal blow.
"Postville is going to go to hell," Mary Ramos said.
She was picking up the belongings of three friends at an apartment complex in the southeast corner of Postville. She said the trio , exhausted and hungry, arrived on her doorstep Monday night 75 miles away in Dubuque.
"I said 'Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?' They said, 'We ran. We jumped out of the second-story window and we ran.'"
Picking through their personal effects, Ramos told two other women with her to pick up the men's shoes and see if there was room in the car for a microwave. They cleaned on the refrigerator, but left many other items, including mattresses and folding chairs.
Shuffling through a drawer, Ramos found a few pay stubs. Bold letters on the check read "AGRIPROCESSORS, INC. Thanks You." Each showed all three men were making within 25 cents of Iowa's minimum wage.
"Moises was making $7.25 an hour after three years of work," Ramos said.
After a press conference at St. Bridget's Church, Sister Mary McCauley said Agriprocessors bears responsibility for helping create the present situation. She cited safety violations, inappropriate working conditions, long hours and claims the company ignored workers' physical needs.
Despite such allegations, though, many in the community on Wednesday were more likely to blame ICE agents who conducted the raid and politicians who have yet to implement an effective immigration policy.
Dixie Starkey said plenty of the burden should go toward the illegal aliens and the plant's owners. She was moving into a rental property after she found a home that housed two Hispanic families until Monday. In their rush to leave, the families left behind baby bottles and furniture, which the landlord cleared out.
"They got what they asked for. They came here illegally, and knowing they were here illegally, they bring their families over here illegally," she said. "Agri knew they were illegals. It's Agri's own tough luck, too."
Even so, Starkey acknowledged the plant's absence would likely hurt the town, if only temporarily.
"Let's hope Agri can pick up and go on with what happened," she said.
Laverne Wedo, 79, a longtime resident, also blamed the illegal workers and plant owners. He said he assumes everyone in town, including the plant's owners, knew illegal aliens worked in the plant.
"I feel kind of sorry for them in a way, but they should know better, too, I think," he said. "There's other ways to get up here. You don't have to sneak."
But he also said he liked those in the Mexican community, including three young men who live next door. He hasn't seen a another group of Hispanic men that live in a house across the street, he assumed Wednesday that they had fled the area.
"I didn't see any lights on last night," Wedo said.
But the men are still there, said Santiago Salvador, who lives down the street. They've been hiding inside since Monday.
"In past days, I'd walk down the street and say hi to my people. Now my neighbors are gone. It's sad," he said.
Salvador and his family arrived a month ago from Guatemala on tourist visas. They planned to find jobs once they obtained proper paperwork. Now, they intend to go home, perhaps as soon as this weekend.
Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.
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inlandempire70 wrote on May 15, 2008 12:21 PM:
" My sympathies to the legit business that are going to suffer some financial set back in Postville....but look to the future. Perhaps Agri will be forced to pay real 2008 wages that might actually be able to support a family! Imagine the possibilites of growth and prosperity. Agri created the problem and the anger and resentment should be directed at them. They created a community dependent on the horrific wages paid to people be here illegally. Shame on them and them only. The illegals will work for almost nothing, they will only come if there are jobs. Now that they have had a taste of America lets pray they start over and do it the legal way that millions of other LEGAL immigrants have done it. "
missy b wrote on May 15, 2008 12:29 PM:
" Perhaps the detainees would get a bit more empathy from the community if they were to leave their Mexican flags in Mexico. I find it very irritating to see the Mexican colors waving in from of the Cattle Congress. "
Beau wrote on May 15, 2008 12:33 PM:
" What part doesn't some of the people of Postville get. They were here illegally so they are criminals. Agripocessors Inc Owners should be thown in Jail or taken down to the dention center too so they can see they have caused. "
Blondie wrote on May 15, 2008 12:35 PM:
" I'm getting tired of reading all the sob stories. The illegal immigrants, Agriproccessors and the landlords in Postville took the risk and they are now dealing with the consequences. "
jhill wrote on May 15, 2008 1:29 PM:
" " Are you kidding me? What would you do for your families if they were starving? Would you do whatever you had to in an impossible situation to feed and clothe your children? Of course you would. I know I would. Guatamala - let's see - 36 years of civil war destroyed their country. Hundreds of thousands of civilians killed by a military government - oh did I mention a US backed military government? Later the US government apologized and said their backing of the genocide was wrong - an apology does not bring your loved ones back from the grave - it does not provide a job where you can feed your family. These people would love to be able to apply legally to be in the US but they cannot - the US government will not let them - there are no procedures in place in order for them to do that. As long as employers get a slap on the wrist they will continue to employ and use illegals as their work force. Agriprocessors had a system in place to facilitate their use of stolen Social Security numbers - they helped them but yet they will receive a slap on the wrist and in a few months will be back at it again. ICE has decimated a small Iowa town - their economy cannot recover - all for 400 people. What about illegals in gangs in California, Texas, Arizona running drugs and murdering - how about spending the money rounding them up? "
"
"
Brittanicus wrote on May 15, 2008 1:40 PM:
" With the Postville, meatpacking plant being caught up in sweeps of (ICE) Immigration and customs Enforcement, it was discovered at least 390 illegal aliens working at ' Agriprocessors' Not only had they voted in union matters, but the courts deemed in it's ruling valid. The question is how many illegal foreign nationals are voting in primaries? If people came to this country illegal and broke one law. It doesn't need any stretch of the imagination to know that they will perjury themselves and vote in our general election, when so much is a stake; our countries future?
Overpopulation, congestion, urban sprawl, pollution, environmental damage, crime, diminishing resources, Diseases, lack of affordable housing, depressed wages, underground economic, fraudulent documents, identity theft, tax evasion, soaring crime rate, increased tax burdens, overcrowded schools, uneducated children, overcrowded prisons, inadequate health care, the balkanization of our communities and a large and growing population with loyalty to other Nations. Just read this disturbing revelation of costs, that our government skims from our paycheck to pay an illegal Paul. (www.eagleforum.org/sources)
In addition, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is expected to try to add an amnesty for illegal-alien agricultural workers to the Iraq supplemental spending bill when that bill is marked up today in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is using strong-arm tactics against anti-illegal-immigration Democrats in an effort to kill the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088) for the year. North Carolina Democrat Heath Shuler's SAVE Act is an incredible threat to the unscrupulous businesses of America who insist on illegal labor to hold down their labor costs. Most business owners are not like that, but the outlaw businesses have the ear of Speaker Pelosi.
"
Overpopulation, congestion, urban sprawl, pollution, environmental damage, crime, diminishing resources, Diseases, lack of affordable housing, depressed wages, underground economic, fraudulent documents, identity theft, tax evasion, soaring crime rate, increased tax burdens, overcrowded schools, uneducated children, overcrowded prisons, inadequate health care, the balkanization of our communities and a large and growing population with loyalty to other Nations. Just read this disturbing revelation of costs, that our government skims from our paycheck to pay an illegal Paul. (www.eagleforum.org/sources)
In addition, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is expected to try to add an amnesty for illegal-alien agricultural workers to the Iraq supplemental spending bill when that bill is marked up today in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is using strong-arm tactics against anti-illegal-immigration Democrats in an effort to kill the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088) for the year. North Carolina Democrat Heath Shuler's SAVE Act is an incredible threat to the unscrupulous businesses of America who insist on illegal labor to hold down their labor costs. Most business owners are not like that, but the outlaw businesses have the ear of Speaker Pelosi.
"
Reader54 wrote on May 15, 2008 4:51 PM:
" To Jhill.... Do you think your logic would work if someone goes to court for any other crime???
Just crazy, unfortunately these individuals did something wrong and they got caught.
Is what ICE did any different from the safety checks done for speeding etc.? The individuals who get caught speeding broke a law and must face the judge! "
Just crazy, unfortunately these individuals did something wrong and they got caught.
Is what ICE did any different from the safety checks done for speeding etc.? The individuals who get caught speeding broke a law and must face the judge! "
mnhky1 wrote on May 15, 2008 5:39 PM:
" I too want to congratulate the ICE agents for their work on the raid and for their efforts in protecting our borders. And to those who support the illegals, please, what part of illegal don't you understand? Americans are anxiously waiting for the next raid to rid our country of illegal immigrants from our businesses and our borders. "
Brittanicus wrote on May 15, 2008 8:27 PM:
" All law abiding citizens should read this, but not parasite employers
Read about the successful expedited economic impact of Illegal aliens fleeing Arizona
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/05/15/striking-changes-in-arizona-as-illegal-immigrants-flee-the-state/#comment-62672
Get your pro-illegal immigrant Democrats to sponsor the Federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) "
Read about the successful expedited economic impact of Illegal aliens fleeing Arizona
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/05/15/striking-changes-in-arizona-as-illegal-immigrants-flee-the-state/#comment-62672
Get your pro-illegal immigrant Democrats to sponsor the Federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) "
JC wrote on May 15, 2008 10:03 PM:
" Congratulations ICE! You are doing a great job. Waterloo's Tysons should be next since you will be in town for awhile. I think you need to permanently set up shop here in Iowa to keep the illegals out of the Heartland. Wow, they travel fast from the border states don't they! "
lookingin wrote on May 16, 2008 3:58 PM:
" Brittanicus I went to the web site you suggested and it's informative. It's also the way I said and believed all along. After the mess that the government has neglected for so long is cleaned up we can start on working on an immigration law that allows them to enter the country easier and legally. The other web site you posted was eye opening too. "
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unionlabel wrote on May 15, 2008 12:20 PM: