Up to 700 arrests estimated in Postville raid

The arrests were mostly of Guatemalans, almost 300 of them, less than 100 Mexicans, 4 Ukrainians, and 3 Israelis. It was said there were several hundred agents involved, but I have no idea how many agents there were. The SUV convoy carrying them in went on for about 15minutes, they also brought in a mobile command center, a dedicated satellite up link, and and 2 Black Hawk helicopters, it was like something out of a movie.

They went to neighboring towns and searched door to door, they had warrants for 700 arrests, but some got away before it started and probably haven't stopped running yet.

The aftermath is production was greatly slowed, but not halted. The beef operation is being brought back up to speed with workers from another plant, the poultry operation worked a few days at reduced capacity, and hiring has commenced from lots of places in Iowa.

The town isn't a ghost town, but the Hispanic owned businesses have to be suffering, lots of their customers have left either by force or by choice.

Postville was a relatively easy target to secure, and the chances of failure were nil. The politicians are mostly either supportive or non committal, and the process is going forward, with criminal charges being filed, and if not, immigration proceedings against those deemed not criminal. It would be lots harder to have a raid this successful in a city, the percentage caught would have been much less, and the force needed to secure the area would be much greater. There are larger workforces than this around.

 

I don't know what the timing was about, other than there are no tall fields of corn to hide in yet, and with the stuff they had available to them, they could have done that raid in the dark during a rainstorm even if some had tall fields of corn to run into. It could have been accomplished with arrest warrants served where the people lived without the spectacle. Manpower was certainly not a problem;they actually went out after the situation was in hand and looked elsewhere, also looked at small businesses and farms in the area.

I don't quite follow your logic about a wholesale slaughter if it had been delayed:smt017:smt102. But it's Monday morning, and I have had 2 full days off, maybe it will look different when I get back.

Meanwhile, the saga continues, like it has been for years, with the feds telling everyone else to turn a blind eye while they take care of it. All of a dozen odd agencies involved.

 

The raids were conducted so as to not endanger anyone or harm dependent children by depriving them of a parent or guardian, many of the women arrested were later released to care for the kids. The raid at Marshalltown in 2006 angered lots of people because these concerns weren't dealt with.

When the grounds in Waterloo were leased to house the detainees, it was called a training exercise, and that is probably what it was, the next one won't be as easy, but it will come, unless reforms are instituted now, and so far there is not a consensus on what those reforms need to be that everyone will accept.