Iowa faith leaders are calling for immigration reform laws that would treat immigrant workers humanely in response to recent incidents involving immigrant workers in the state.
The bishops and clergies participating in a recent tele-press conference denounced what they called a troubling pattern of worker exploitation and disregard for immigrant families around the state.
Specifically, they pointed to the government raid on a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, and the abuse of clean-up crews recently brought in to help with flood recovery.
In May, government officials carried out the largest raid in Iowa history, arresting nearly 400 people from Agriprocessors Inc. – the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse. The massive crackdown involved dozens of federal agents, and two law enforcement helicopters, according to the DesMoines Register.
The event reignited the debate about immigration reform laws as allegations surfaced about worker abuse, exploitation of underage workers, and unfair pay. The Iowa raid also raised concerns over who would care for the children of those detained, with some criticizing federal agents for separating families.
“Our church is responding to God’s call to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and visit the imprisoned,” said Bishop Steven Ullestad of Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
“Members of the faith communities are joining together to provide care for children with no food, babies in need of diapers and families in need of homes. The toll of the devastation on Postville has yet to be measured. The impact on the children will last a lifetime.”
The faith leaders highlighted that many immigrant workers are hired by staffing agencies that do not tell them what they will be doing and provide little or no training, food and inadequate housing for the workers.
“I've yet to meet a Republican or Democrat who is not appalled when learning of the exploitation and lack of basic human decency extended to workers as they aid Iowa in its hour of need,” said the Rev. Catherine Quehl-Engel, chaplain of Cornell College in Mt. Vernon.
“When 35 mostly African-Americans workers sat on a bus for 14 hours without food, or when a Hispanic gentleman from Miami works in toxic filth 12-14 hours daily then is told by management to sleep on or under the bus that brought them to Cedar Rapids, then Iowans must rise to bi-partisan moral, legislative leadership,” she said.
Other participants in the press conference this past Thursday included Bishop Alan Scarfe, Episcopal Diocese of Iowa; Bishop Gregory Palmer, Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; the Rev. Julia Rendon of the Iowa Conference of the United Church of Christ; and Patty Kupfer, Manager of Partnerships with America’s Voice.
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Hello,
Yes, I would like to respond to the article. The United States is in a spiral that is out of control, we are reaping what we are sewing. I am a Christian and I donâ
I don't know why this is even an issue, people leave their country because it's horrible to enter our country because were blessed and prosperous here. The problem isn't immigrants it's illegal immigrants that don't become assimilated to society. I see immigrants coming here and not learning english, not teaching their children english, not paying taxes, (a blessing for them, not for us). Plain and simple they have broken the law and those who help them brake the law should be fined for hiring them without reporting it. Plus by not going through the proper channels millions of people have come here without immunizations against things that we put out of this country long ago. We are setting ourselves up for a collapse of our society and culture.
The church should determine why the local legal community had such a high unemployment rate, while the largest employer, Agriprocessor Inc., hired so many illegal aliens. Perhaps the company didn't realize they were a thousand miles from the border with Mexico and they didn't notice it strange that so many of their applicants/employees looked and sounded Hispanic. In fact many of them were only fluent in Spanish?
The church should ask the irresponsible parents why they smuggled their children into America, knowing they had no status to be here. The church is becoming more and more involved with politics. Christians need to be asking why Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and others have so many of their people are leaving. Perhaps it is because the governments are corrupt and don't take care of their people. Why should we be expected to make corporations like Agriprocessors rich, by allowing them to pay sub-standard wages to illegal aliens, while American's go unemployed.
They should have arrested the CEO of the plant and forced them to give each illegal worker $5000 and transport back to Mexico. Word would spread quick among CEO's
Here's the press release:
http://www.agriprocessor.com/media/pdf/Agriprocessors-Corporate-Compliance-release-060508.pdf
It looks like someone did some serious kicking rear and taking names...then firing them!
Check it out.
Just a thought...why not make Agriprocessors Inc. pay for the care of the children and such? If you do the crime....