Star Tribune: Slaughterhouse manager guilty on Imm. charges

Shortly after the immigration raid at the Agriprocessor meat processing plant last May, my brother, step-sister, step-mother, and I drove the three hours from St. Paul down to Postville, Iowa. All of us were upset about the government's handling of the raid and the rumors (which were found to be quite true) that the owners and managers of the Kosher slaughterhouse had mistreated and exploited their undocumented employees. My step-mom, a Rabbi who works to promote interfaith dialogue, felt especially strongly that we go down as Jews, to show those immigrant workers who were still in Postville that the Rubashkin family, who owned the plant, were the exception, not the rule.

The day we spent in Postville was incredibly powerful and also deeply disturbing. We met some of the Agriprocessors employees, mostly young Guatemalan women, who had been arrested and released to take care of their children. They wore large, obtrussive GPS bracelets around their ankles that tracked their every move. And they talked about their husbands, boyfriends, fathers, and brothers--also workers at the factory--who had been taken to jails across the state and with whom they had no contact. Our own government had forced them into the worst Catch 22: although released to "care for their children," with their movement restricted and the GPS bracelets a clear sign of their immigration status, these women had no way of getting a job or making money, and were therefore left helpless.

I'm not sure what has come of these women in the past year. I sincerely hope that they are safe and healthy, and that they have been reunited with their families, either in the U.S. or back in Guatemala. I know that the Rubashkins, as well as a number of upper-level managers, were charged with various labor and immigration crimes, including one more in the last week, according to this article in the Star Tribune. It is a reminder of the role that employers often play in the struggles of undocumented workers. And it reminded me of the day I spent in Postville--seeing first hand the devastation caused by our broken immigration system.