US factory raid splits small town
A tour of Postville
Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:16 UK
A raid that caught nearly 400 illegal immigrants working in an Iowa meat packing plant has put a small town at the centre of one of America's most divisive issues, as the BBC's Dumeetha Luthra discovered.
As you enter Postville, Iowa, it could be a poster ad for many small towns across mid-America with its clipped lawns, US flags, and kids cycling down the street.
A roadside sign proudly welcomes you to the "Hometown to the World".
But on 12 May those words were turned on their head when 389 illegal immigrants were arrested while working at Agriprocessors, a kosher meat packing plant.
It was the biggest such raid the US had ever conducted, and it thrust Postville centre-stage to become a microcosm of the illegal immigration debate. Almost three months on, the small town is in turmoil.
"It's worse now than when the raids took place," said Father Ouderkirk, who came out of retirement as parish priest to help in the aftermath.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7545663.stm
