An Immigration Raid in Georgia Aids Blacks for a Time

“After a wave of raids by federal immigration agents in Stillmore, Ga. on Labor Day weekend, a local chicken-processing company called Crider Inc. lost 75 percent of its mostly Hispanic 900-member work force. The crackdown threatened to cripple the economic anchor of this fading rural town.

But for local African-Americans, the dramatic appearance of federal agents presented an unexpected opportunity. Crider suddenly raised pay at the plant. An advertisement in the weekly Forest-Blade newspaper blared “Increased Wages” at Crider, starting at $7 to $9 an hour – more than a dollar above what the company had paid many immigrant workers. The company began offering free transportation from nearby towns and free rooms in a company-owned dormitory near to the plant. For the first time in years, local officials say, Crider aggressively sought workers from the areas state-funded employment office – a key avenue for low-skilled workers to find jobs. Of 400 candidates sent to Crider – most of them black – the plant hired about 200.”

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