Summary
Labor Day 2007 comes during a period of high-pitched debate about an increasingly visible segment of the work force illegal immigrants. However, when an influx of immigrant workers and their families, legal and not, revives a fading town and creates new relationships, the discussion gets more complicated. Heres a look at one such community.
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa - Everyone knew they were there, doing dirty and dangerous work in the massive meatpacking plant. They had come a long way - more than 1,000 miles, from impoverished rural Mexico to the lush corn country of the Midwest. Some folks looked the other way, others offered a helping hand.See the full content of this document
Extract
Iowa Town Caught in Immigration Squeeze
Then federal agents swept through, and the complicated bargain that Marshalltown had made with illegal immigration was laid bare.
This town in the heart of Middle America that has been transformed - even rejuvenated - by immigration stands as a symbol of the agonizing predicaments and pressures faced by many communities today."You're caught in the middle," says Mayor Gene Beach. "It's a matter of enforcing the immigration laws while recognizin...See the full content of this document
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