Election 2008: What’s At Stake?

Though the country’s attention has been focused on an ongoing financial crisis, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are continuing, and there have been developments in the aftermath of past raids. News 21 gets you up to speed:

• “Fear. Stress. Isolation,” says the Hattiesburg American, listing themes in the lives of detainees’ families after the raid in Laurel, Miss. They shared their stories with the newspaper at a meeting of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, which is trying to get detainees’ paychecks released to their families. So far, Howard Industries has refused to do so.
• In Honolulu, another 21 illegal immigrants were arrested at a construction site for a luxury resort. A month ago, 23 were arrested at the same site.
• Last week, ICE arrested 21 illegal immigrants in Vacaville, Calif., who had been working in buffet restaurants. The agents found the immigrants living in deplorable conditions: “It appeared all of the homes were being used to house significant numbers of people. Inside they discovered makeshift walls and mattresses in many of the rooms, including the garages.” The immigrants were from China , Mexico, Guatemala, Indonesia, Singapore and Honduras.
• Twenty-one people were arrested at a discount mall on Chicago’s west side and charged with document fraud, in a ring that provided illegal immigrants with papers.
• Two human resource managers from the Postville meatpacking plant raided in May plead not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting document fraud and identity theft and harboring illegal aliens. Meanwhile, Agriprocessors is struggling to recover, as recently-hired Somali refugees have quit citing poor working conditions.