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Exactly one year ago today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. As the largest such action at the time, the federal immigration crackdown resulted in the arrest of nearly 400 workers employed at the Agriprocessors Incorporated plant. Residents of Postville, as well as neighboring supporters, will mark the one-year anniversary of the raid later today with a prayer vigil and solidarity march to the site of the raid. The separation of families that resulted from the detentions of undocumented immigrant workers mostly from Guatemala and Mexico, coupled with the size and scope of the raid, made Postville an instant epicenter for the debate over the nation’s immigration system. One year later, with the absence of comprehensive immigration reform and with a new administration, critics of the raid stress that there are lessons to be learned from the experience. According to Americas Voice, the Postville raid was a most glaring example of prioritizing immigrant deportations over the labor violations of their employers.

GUEST: Paco Fabian, Communications Director, Americas Voice. For more information visit www.americasvoice.org.