Congressman Insults Entire Community By Praising Postville Raid

Posted by Lynn Tramonte, America's Voice at 5:34 AM on December 16, 2008.

Today, in a Des Moines Register op-ed, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) claimed the Postville raid was a "step in the right direction" for our immigration policy.  He applauded deportation-only "solutions" to illegal immigration, which he claimed would  "help protect American workers and local communities."

If only Rep. King had stopped to listen to the very community and workers of Postville, Iowa. 

They held a telephonic press conference just yesterday to explain the real injury the raid had caused.  Rev. Steve Brackett of St. Paul's Lutheran Church discussed the impact on workers, families and the community: "The damage is irreparable," he stated.  The AP summarized his comments this way:

The plight of Postville has been tied to the downfall of Agriprocessors, which has filed for bankruptcy. The plant's struggles have left hundreds in Postville without jobs. The loss of jobs has stretched the resources of the town, local charities and religious groups.

Local officials have described the town as being a humanitarian crisis -- and clergy sounded similar themes on Wednesday.

Local leaders on Wednesday's press call pleaded for their Congressional members to visit Postville and hear from the workers and families affected.  Now Steve King claims to want to "protect American workers and local communities" by advocating for more Postvilles.

Talk about adding insult to injury.

Tagged as: immigration, raid, postville, steve king, jobs workers