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Postville, U.S.A.: Surviving Diversity in Small-Town America
Mark A. Grey, Michele Devlin, and Aaron Goldsmith
Postville is an obscure town in the northeast corner of rural Iowa where the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant flourished for more than a decade. As a result, unparalleled ethnic diversity sparked the curiosity of international media. But Postville’s momentum was stopped in its tracks on May 12, 2008, when Agriprocessors was crushed by a massive US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid. More than 20 percent of the town’s population was arrested, a battery of criminal charges was levied against the company’s management and a disastrous immigration policy was exposed. The meatpacker’s ensuing bankruptcy contributed to the near economic and social collapse of the town. Today Postville is attempting to survive a near terminal blow. The lessons from Postville’s struggle provide urgently needed insights for small towns all across rural America undergoing rapid ethnic change in the face of new global economics and international migration. -- Provided by publisher
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