Crooked Towns: Brent Wistrom/Wichita Eagle on Liberal, Kansas

Next in our series of "Crooked Towns Stories" is "Hispanic influx gives Liberal, Kan., a new face" by Brent Wistrom of the Wichita Eagle:

...Liberal's recent history is about changing cultures. Police officers calling translators at crime scenes. Old white men sipping coffee and explaining how bad things have gotten. A middle-aged father here illegally, living scared with his child's future on the line. Money being earned and sent out of the country. Families dividing and reuniting. Students and teachers struggling and improving.

Hard work and hard lives...

And, so forth. Like the other similar articles, it indicates that everyone knows what's going on:

No one knows how many people of any race are in Liberal illegally. Many people -- citizens and illegal immigrants alike -- here estimate that at least half of the Hispanics lack legal residency.

And, perhaps his editor should have waited until his calls were returned or he had had a chance to dig up some records. Unless, of course, following the money wasn't their goal:

Unlike places like California that are known for having a lot of day laborers working in agricultural fields, Liberal's major employers are nearly all government or food industry.

Residents and employees say the town's largest employer, National Beef, requires documentation. The meatpacking plant has 3,500 employees...

...Calls to National Beef for comment weren't returned...

...another food company is considering building nearby. Last fall, Smithfield Beef Group Inc. and ContiGroup Cos. announced an agreement to build a beef processing plant in Texas County, Oklahoma -- a city 20 miles southwest of Liberal...

Immigration2007b · Sun, 09/02/2007 - 10:51 · Importance: 1