A year ago, on May 12th, 2008, over 389 undocumented workers were arrested in the raid of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa. The events that occurred before, during and after the raid all indicate how broken our immigration system is. Despite the raid calling national attention to this broken system, comprehensive immigration reform has not been introduced or even drafted. Now, Postville and communities around the nation commemorate the raid’s anniversary through prayer vigils, sounds of justice, and the wearing of red ribbons.
It is crucial that action on comprehensive immigration reform does not wait. Just as workers in Postville suffered abuses due to lack of protection and detainees were herded through unjust judicial processes, many immigrants and American communities suffer today. Let's stand in solidarity with the Postville community in calling for the beginning of a comprehensive immigration reform movement.
We are asked to write to our Representatives in Washington, asking them to fix the immigration system so that the pain of Postville is not felt again. This would involve a comprehensive immigration package that:
- Upholds family unity as a priority of all immigration policies
- Creates a process for undocumented immigrants to earn their legal status and eventual citizenship.
- Protects workers and provides efficient channels of entry for new migrant workers
- Facilitates immigrant integration
- Restores due process protections and reforms detention policies
- Aligns the enforcement of immigration laws with humanitarian values.
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