Undocumented : How Immigration Became Illegal by Aviva Chomsky

Author:Aviva Chomsky [Chomsky, Aviva]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8070-0168-4
Publisher: Random House Digital Dist
Published: 2014-12-04T18:30:00+00:00

Like Swift, Agriprocessors looked to other sources of marginalized, immigrant workers in the wake of the raid. “In one of its most desperate moves, Agri recruited 170 people from the Micronesian island of Palau—whose status as a former US protectorate means its citizens can work legally in the United States. In September 2008, the Palauans traveled 72 hours and 8,000 miles on planes and buses before arriving in Postville with little more than flip-flops and brightly colored shorts and tops.”32

Six months later, the plant closed. It was later sold and reopened, and like other plants in the industry, implemented the E-Verify system. However, as a journalist found in 2011,

few Iowan-born locals work there. Ridding this small community of its illegal workforce, far from freeing up jobs for American-born citizens, has resulted in closed businesses and fewer opportunities. Even nearly four years later, many homes still remain empty, and taxable retail sales are about 40 percent lower than they were in 2008.

In order to staff its still low-paying jobs with legal immigrants, the new owner of the plant has recruited a hodgepodge of refugees and other immigrants, who often leave the town as soon as they find better opportunities, creating a constant churn among the population. The switch to a legal workforce has made the community feel less stable, some locals say, and it’s unclear if Postville will again become a place where immigrants will put down roots, raise children, and live in relative harmony with their very different neighbors.33

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