Illegal immigrtion big livestock industry problem

The raids this last week by the federal government's Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) of eight Pilgrim's Pride chicken processing plants turned up over 400 illegal workers. This is about the same percentage turned up each time ICE has raided a meat packing plant, as its done over the years in many locations and companies.

Meat packing is one of the less desirable jobs one could do, and is therefore, chronically short of labor. We wouldn't go so far as to say plant management encourages illegals to come to work, but perhaps overlooks a lot of things. Otherwise, how would you explain why ICE has never failed to turn up a significant number of illegal workers at every packing plant raid its ever conducted?

This is quite a serious problem for the small, rural communities where most packing plants are located. The cultural gulf between the locals and the illegals is wide, and neither the town or its schools are equipped to deal with primarily Spanish-speaking residents and students. Crime problems, sanitation problems and over-crowding of the limited local housing stock all work together to create a powder keg in many local communities.

The cry of business is that there are jobs that need to be done and Americans won't do them, and they're right. Meat packing is a prime area they're talking about. Poorly paid, in areas without enough housing and other facilities to handle them, go a long way to explain why meat packing is always labor short. Despite steady advances in automation, it is still a labor-intensive business, so is ripe for illegals.

States and local areas within them, are deeply concerned about illegal immigration but are limited in what they can do. Its like squeezing a balloon--it just pops out somewhere else. Illegal immigration is a national problem, and until the federal government gets serious about border enforcement and serious penalties for hiring illegals, it will be status quo.

Liberal Democrats, who see big political opportunities for votes among illegals, as well as a natural constituency for the services of big government, and big business Republicans who employ them, stand in the way of significant reform. President Bush has only given lip service to immigration reform, as he was quite successful in courting Hispanic votes as Governor of Texas, and now with a Democratic majority in Congress, there just isn't a majority to do something serious.

But the ordinary folks, who have seen their communities over-run by illegals, still clamor for something to be done.