One year ago on May 12 the largest immigration raid in the history of the U.S. occurred in Postville, Iowa. Three-fourths of the employees (389) were arrested as undocumented workers. They were also exploited, underpaid and, in some cases, sexually abused in the workplace. Following the raid they were quickly tried in groups at the local cattle barn at the fairgrounds, and most of them were deported.

The plant was unable to replace all the workers and shut down, leaving the rest of the workforce unemployed. One-third of the population left town overnight, abandoning houses and businesses and leaving 50 empty desks at the local school.

A year later people still live in fear. Our tax dollars funded this raid, but there is no funding to help the community recover. Several workers still await trial, costing the town of Postville almost $80,000 a month to support them. Children born in the U.S. whose parents were deported will be supported by child welfare tax dollars until they reach the age of 18.

We cannot continue to tear families and towns apart and leave them to clean up the mess created by our broken immigration system. Comprehensive immigration reform is needed to bring workers out of the shadows, keep families together, and eliminate the fear and destruction caused by raids. Immigration reform would provide a path for workers to remain employed (and keep paying taxes) and give them protection to report labor abuses.

Lenore Fries

Albert Lea