Spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers
Spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union that represents meat-packing line-workers
PROFILE
Jill Cashen
Guest
FROM Jill Cashen
To the Point
Rough Jobs, Illegal Immigration and Identity Theft Horrendous working conditions in meatpacking plants were exposed by Upton Sinclair in his novel, The Jungl e, back in 1906. One hundred years later, the plants are staffed mostly by recent immigrants, both illegal and legal. Last week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau raided Swift & Company plants in six states. Agents, some wearing riot gear, locked down the plants and divided employees by citizenship status. The expressed purpose of Operation Wagon Train was to crack down on identity theft, but only 65 charges were filed against 1282 people arrested. It's alleged that some of those arrested were separated from their families, even though they were legal residents who left their papers at home. Scattered families are trying to get back together where meatpacking is all that keeps towns together. Will the incident spark immigration reform in the new Congress?
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