If immigration had fallen off the presidential campaign radar, it may be forced back on now.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted the largest single-site raid ever in Postville, Iowa (the state where the first presidential caucus/primary is always held), at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant, which is also the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse. 

The number of alleged illegal immigrants detained amounted to 390, consisting primarily of Guatemalans and Mexicans.  Hundreds more may be charged with aggravated identity theft, unlawful use of Social Security numbers and other criminal and employment law offenses.  Chaos reined at the plant and all across Postville and surrounding communities where there is a large immigrant population.

ICE significantly ramped up its enforcement activity in 2007, and if the Postville raid is any indication, 2008 will be taken to a whole new level of enforcement.  And what’s to prevent it?  ICE is just doing its job.  The presidential candidates and the Congress are paralyzed because of the upcoming November election.  Illegal immigrants will have to fend for themselves.  Some will be detained.  Some will be deported (after being detained for months and then being drugged without their knowledge).  All will live in fear–fear of losing a job, fearing of being separated from their children, fear of living as criminals and trying to stay one step ahead of ICE.  That’s one thing the immigrants and the politicians have in common:  fear.

Some Americans–maybe many–find this chaos acceptable, even preferable.  Illegal immigrants should be treated like criminals, because they are criminals.  It’s about time the government enforced the law.  Illegals are stealing our tax dollars and taking jobs from our citizens.

Perhaps so, although some–maybe many–would counter that we are a nation of immigrants.  The law should be changed to make it easier for immigrants to become citizens–not to criminalize their status.  Since most illegals have some sort of ID/Social Security card, income taxes and Social Security are often being withheld.  The immigrants don’t benefit, however, because the IDs/Social Security cards are fake or belong to someone else.  If there’s some kind of windfall, it’s going to the government or other people.

And maybe there are some legal citizens who would take the immigrants’ jobs–working in a slaughterhouse, heavy labor, toilet cleaning.  But where are they?  Why aren’t the unemployment numbers much higher?  Why do employers that rely on immigrant workers also live in fear–fear that they’ll have to close up if the immigrant worker pool dries up, fear of being severely fined because they failed to discover that IDs were fake, fear that the current economic crises will only worsen if we lose immigrant labor?

Immigration is a hot button issue.  It’s a divisive issue.  But maybe there’s one thing we can agree on.  It’s a mess.  No matter how many raids ICE makes, it’ll still be a mess–until politicians have the gumption to take action.  Apparently, that won’t happen until 2009.  Meanwhile, U.S. immigration policy will retain its haphazard method of enforcement.

Are our immigrant ancestors spinning in their graves?  Has the Statue of Liberty with her beckoning credo turned cold as ice?   Americans will answer these questions differently, depending on their point of view on this difficult issue.  What I want is for our so-called political leaders to answer these questions–one way or another.