Legal Commentary

Obama, Iowa and Immigration

By Jeralyn

Immigration policy has not been front and center in the campaign so far. Except for the issue of drivers' licenses, the candidates are getting a free pass. They use the mantra "we need immigration reform" and everyone moves on to the next topic.

The Washington Post reports on an Iowa town that is very upset about immigration raids in the workplace.

Monday's raid on the Agriprocessors plant, in which 389 immigrants were arrested and many held at a cattle exhibit hall, was the Bush administration's largest crackdown on illegal workers at a single site. It has upended this tree-lined community, which calls itself "Hometown to the World." Half of the school system's 600 students were absent Tuesday, including 90 percent of Hispanic children, because their parents were arrested or in hiding.

Current and former officials of the Department of Homeland Security say its raid on the largest employer in northeast Iowa reflects the administration's decision to put pressure on companies with large numbers of illegal immigrant workers, particularly in the meat industry. But its disruptive impact on the nation's largest supplier of kosher beef and on the surrounding community has provoked renewed criticism that the administration is disproportionately targeting workers instead of employers, and that the resulting turmoil is worse than the underlying crimes.

Since Barack Obama will be in Iowa Tuesday night touting his inevitablility as the nominee, how about pinning him down so voters can draw some real distinctions, if there are any, between him, Hillary and John McCain?

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 18, 2008 (boomark / email).