Immigration Raid Could Cost up to $30 Million
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 12:00 am
- 4 Comments
Swift & Co., which owned six meat processing plants raided by immigration officers in December, said last week that the company could lose up to $30 million in operating efficiency and hiring replacement employees for the nearly 1,300 jobs it lost.
The Greeley, Colo., based company said that the company was not operating in full capacity since the Dec. 12 raids.
Industry experts fear that meat prices might be affected a result.
4 Comments
Comment posted January 10, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Add the human costs to that… Think of the wrenching human stories that emerged from these raids–children separated from their parents, spouses separated from each other, several who received phone calls from their loved ones only after the deportation of those loved ones.
Because our country’s immigration system doesn’t work, we will scapegoat the least powerful people among us–the immigrants who come to work in meatpacking (and other industries) so that we can buy cheap lunch meat for our kids’ sandwiches.
This kind of scapegoating never solves a problem. It only diverts attention away from the real solution–comprehensive immigration reform that creates paths to permanent residency and earned citizenship, workplace protections, and family reunification.
Comment posted January 10, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
$30 Million eh? The long overdue punative component, and really not sufficient in my opinion. Still, maybe next time Swift & Co will think twice before hiring illegal aliens.
Comment posted January 10, 2007 @ 4:16 am
Add the human costs to that… Think of the wrenching human stories that emerged from these raids–children separated from their parents, spouses separated from each other, several who received phone calls from their loved ones only after the deportation of those loved ones.
Because our country's immigration system doesn't work, we will scapegoat the least powerful people among us–the immigrants who come to work in meatpacking (and other industries) so that we can buy cheap lunch meat for our kids' sandwiches.
This kind of scapegoating never solves a problem. It only diverts attention away from the real solution–comprehensive immigration reform that creates paths to permanent residency and earned citizenship, workplace protections, and family reunification.
Comment posted January 10, 2007 @ 7:22 am
$30 Million eh? The long overdue punative component, and really not sufficient in my opinion. Still, maybe next time Swift & Co will think twice before hiring illegal aliens.
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