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GUEST: Amalia Anderson, Program Director for the Mainstreet Project, community based organization in Minneapolis

ICE agents raided a kosher meat packing plant in northeast Iowa earlier this month, calling it the largest of its kind in the country. A lawsuit on behalf of 137 of the 390 people arrested has now been filed against the government, claiming that the raid violated the constitutional rights of workers. Of those arrested at Agriprocessors Inc in Postville, Iowa, 314 were men and 76 women, mostly from Guatemala and Mexico. ICE agents showed up with loaded machine guns, blocked off exits and swarmed the rooftops of the plant. The lawsuit accuses the government of arbitrary and indefinite detention and notes that a number of children of those arrested have been stranded with baby sitters and other caretakers as a result of the raid. The meat packing plant was found to be exploiting its workers’ immigration status by withholding wages for so-called “immigration fees,” physically abusing them, withholding bathroom breaks, and refusing to pay overtime. Although the plant owners have not been arrested, reports suggest that they could be indicted in the near future. Immigration agents have raided meat companies in the past. In December 2006 nearly 1,300 workers were arrested at Swift & Co meat plants in six states.

Donations to families affected by the raid can be made out to “St. Bridget’s Hispanic Ministry” and mailed c/o Sister Mary Maculay, PO Box 369, Postville, IA 52162.