By JOSH NELSON
josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com
September 27, 2009
WCF Courier
POSTVILLE - A new book out this month is aiming to bring some grounding to the story of Postville in the wake of the largest immigration raid in the state's history.
Authors Mark Grey, Michele Devlin and Aaron Goldsmith wrote their book - "Postville USA: Surviving Diversity in Small Town America" - as a way to reflect the changes in the community over the last decade. The work also details the aftermath of a May 2008 Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the Agriprocessors meat packing plant.
"I think it has a very fascinating story to tell," Grey said.
All three have either lived or worked in Postville during the course of writing the book, giving each of them a personal perspective on the town's mechanics. Grey and Devlin are both professors at the University of Northern Iowa. Goldsmith is a Postville resident and former City Council member.
One of those key drivers is the community's diverse population, which at one point counted more than 30 distinct nationalities.
Many of those people came to work at Agriprocessors, the largest employer in the town of 2,300. The plant, which is was owned until recently by the Rubashkin family, opened in 1987.
In May 2008, federal authorities raided the plant, arresting 389 people on various identity theft charges. Agriprocessors eventually entered into bankruptcy, sending a shock wave through the community. The book ends with the sale of Agriprocessors to SHF Industries for $8.5 million in July.
Devlin said she and Grey spent a lot of time in Postville immediately after the raid, talking to a variety of people - from federal agents to migrant workers and farmers - about the event.
"It seemed at this point, people went through completely different experiences," she said.
She said she also learned how the raid has been interwoven into every issue in Postville while working on the book.
Goldsmith said the book also attempts to correct some of the impressions of Postville in the aftermath of the raid.
"There seemed to be no answers to the ugly things that were being said about Postville," he said.
Prior to the raid, many people looked to the town as a model of a way to foster diversity in small-town America. Afterward, he said, it became a poster child for illegal immigration.
Instead, the authors highlight a decade of efforts to make the town inclusive. They also point to places were that may have fallen flat.
"We really try to provide a balanced and nuanced perspective about what was happening in the community," Grey said. "The debate about Postville was really one-dimensional."
The book also includes a foreword by Courier staff writer Jens Manuel Krogstad, who wrote about his coverage of the raid and its aftermath on Postville.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_49d7a9be-ab27-11de-8927-001cc4c002e0.html
