Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Although it might be difficult to imagine talk of potential health care reform and climate change legislation getting bumped from the nation’s front pages, the foundation for the next partisan cage match is already being built — and Iowa’s own U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is getting in on the ground floor.
Grassley was one of 12 Republican senators, and the lead signatory, on a letter sent to Janet Napolitano, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The letter came in response to comments made by Napolitano regarding the possibility of comprehensive immigration reform and what she perceived as positive economic impacts of a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.
“With all due respect,” the letter reads, “legalizing those who have no legal right to be in the United States will not be a ‘boon’ to American workers. Rather it would only exacerbate the unfair competition American workers currently face as they struggle to find jobs. … Therefore, we strongly encourage you to cease any discussion about enacting a legalization program…”
For Iowans, who watched the economic decimation of Postville and the surrounding area following the massive May 2008 immigration raid at a local meatpacking plant, such assertions of displaced and disenfranchised American workers may fall flat. In fact, in a last ditch attempt to keep the company afloat, the owners hired staffing firms that ultimately resorted to importing homeless individuals from other states to fill vacancies — a situation that disrupted quality of life in the region, and still did not prevent the company’s ultimate bankruptcy.
Even if the Postville experience is removed from the equation, written off due to the “company store” mentality that had permeated life in the area, Iowans are also beginning to understand that the state’s agricultural sector is having growing pains of its own. As populations in rural areas continue to age, local farmers are looking to immigrant workers to meet the demands of production. A study, conducted by the Texas-based Perryman Group, concluded that if every undocumented worker was removed from the U.S., agriculture would be one of the nation’s hardest hit industries. The study estimates that more than $171 billion would be lost nationally and that a total of 476,277 jobs would disappear from the overall economy as a result of the losses.
The letter also takes exception with what it calls “diluted enforcement initiatives,” highlighting delays in requiring federal contractors to use the E-Verify system and changes in the 287(g) program, which permitted local law enforcement to pursue immigration enforcement efforts. (There are no active 287(g) programs in Iowa, although some local agencies have obtained immigration training outside the federal program.)
Perhaps most upsetting to proponents of comprehensive reform is the fact that U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, is one of the signatories. Hatch had previously broken with his party by becoming the original sponsor of the DREAM Act and his signature, perhaps more than any other, along with his assertion that the senators were taking “Napolitano to task” signals the next partisan show-down on the horizon.
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