August 26, 2008

Howard Industries immigration raid: largest in history; tip from union member; legal workers applauded

The largest immigration raid in U.S. history occured yesterday at a Howard Industries plant in southern Mississippi where they make transformers (link). There were almost 600 arrests, with around 100 of those being released for humanitarian reasons.

And, according to Holbrook Mohr of the Associated Press (AP), one of those arresated said that fellow workers applauded as the raid was happening. Not only that, but the raid was apparently initiated by a tip from a union member.

Expect leftwing supporters of illegal immigration to tip-toe around the last two data points. As for the reporter, he spends most of his time trying to portray the illegal aliens as sympathetic victims of our laws rather than looking into the legal workers whose wages were impacted by the large presence of illegal labor.

UPDATE: There's more in "Factory had tension between union, immigrants":

Union members said they resented immigrants, who were often allowed to work as much as 40 hours of overtime a week when other workers were discouraged from doing so. All declined to give their names, saying they feared for their jobs... Robert Shaffer, head of the Mississippi AFL-CIO, said Wednesday that members have long complained that companies in southern Mississippi hire illegal immigrants... "Jackson, Hattiesburg, Laurel and all areas along the coast, it's a little Mexico," Shaffer said. "I'm not against people trying to make living. I have a compassion for those folks. But at the same time, the taxpayers of Mississippi shouldn't be subsidizing a plant that won't even hire their own workers." ...Shaffer said offering immigrant workers union membership would depend on the situation, but he doubted it could be done if immigrants were in the country illegally.

Posted to Immigration2008a at August 26, 2008 08:35 PM