Immigration raid: Proliferation of undocumented workers began in early ’80s – Iowa From: desmoinesregister.com
Tagged: book, Iowa, ProfessorPosted on: May 13th, 2008
Workers in the country illegally have likely been at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville for almost 20 years, said author Stephen Bloom, a journalism professor at the University of Iowa.
“This is the worst-kept secret in Iowa,” said Bloom, who in 2000 published a book chronicling how Agriprocessors’ Hasidic culture affected Postville, a town in northeast Iowa.
The only “thing you need to work at the plant was a strong back and a strong stomach” and a Social Security number, whether it was valid or not, he said.
“Iowans don’t want to do this kind of work for minimum wage and few or no benefits,” he said.”*
Curation from Tomás
Filed Under: Community, History, Immigration, In-depth Focus
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