One year after the raid on a meatpacking plant netting 389 undocumented workers in Postville, Iowa, the town is dying. The plant, Agriprocessors has filed for bankruptcy, the town nears bankruptcy, and the population has declined by half.
Once a bustling small town, with two main streets, the town is trying to cope with the loss of hundreds of residents. Town revenue is down and businesses have been hit hard. Most have closed.
“Anybody that would tell you that (Postville) is in recovery, that’s not true. We’re holding on by our fingernails,” said Trevor Seibert, a landlord with several local businesses.
The housing market, too, has collapsed. One rental agency says that nearly 70 percent of its properties are vacant.
“It’s like you’re in an oven and there’s no place to go and there’s no timer to get you out,” said former ex-Mayor Robert Penrod, who resigned earlier this year.
In such a harsh economic climate, it’s clear that these brutal raids help no one. Reactionary policies that force people into the shadows haven’t worked, and they aren’t consistent with out values. Those policies hurt all of us by encouraging exploitation and low-wage, under-the-table employment that depresses wages. We need policies that help immigrants contribute and participate fully in our society.
Read more at The Opportunity Agenda’s blog.
