Is this Holiday Spirit?

By A�da Bardales -- Críticas, 12/15/2006

Last week’s wave of immigration raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at the meatpacking giant Swift & Company, the second largest meat processor in the world, is both a disturbing example of the potential of the backlash against immigrants, and it is of questionable timing. Immigration officials stormed six plants—in Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Iowa, and Minnesota—last Tuesday. Over a thousand immigrants, both legal and illegal, were arrested in what officials claimed was “a crackdown on identity theft.”

The same thing happened this summer at the Petit Jean Poultry plant in Arkadelphia, AR. Officials stormed the plant and arrested hundreds of people without informing local authorities. The side effects were frightening, with the most innocent impacted most. Hundreds of children were consequently abandoned in day care—immigration officials later admitted to denying detainees the ability to make arrangements with friends or family to pick up their children.

These raids have been going on for months. Meanwhile, media coverage seems minimal. Though the evening news reported last week’s events, and newspapers described the events on the following morning, most of the coverage focused on how this blow will affect the labor costs in the meat business and the industry overall.

Supporters of immigration reform celebrate the raids of last week and say everyone should be paying attention, that stronger action will be taken nationwide against companies that employ illegal immigrants. Yet, rarely are those who employ illegal immigrants prosecuted or forced to serve jail time. Golden State Fence, a fence-building company in Southern California whose work includes some of the border fence between San Diego and Mexico, for instance, was fined but no one from the company was incarcerated. No charges were pressed against Swift & Company. Instead, it’s the immigrant workers who pay the price with their time and physical freedom, and many legal immigrants are caught up in the legalistic nightmare of the process. One has to wonder what happens when people are deported after living for decades in the United States, sent to a country they sometimes barely know.

I am most concerned about the families left behind, all the children that were abandoned. The New York Times published an article this past Saturday illustrating the chaos and fear after the raids and describing how families had been torn apart. Most demoralizing, these raids took place right before the holidays, a time that is supposed to be all about faith, love, and family. It’s heartless.

This year we’ve witnessed a myriad of anti-immigrant sentiments. It’s up to all of us working with the Spanish speaking to make sure that events—like those that took place last week at Swift & Co. plants across the United States, or this summer at Gwinnet County library where Spanish-language budgets were cut—stay on the radar so that these issues are addressed and changes are made.

As that bad news shadows the end of the year, I’d like to turn toward the light and acknowledge our reviewers, the book lovers across the country who dedicate their time to read and review the many works we’ve featured over the years. Many thanks to you all for your hard work and your dedication to Spanish-speaking communities and to Críticas.

In this issue we bring you our picks for Best Adult Books. In general, “best of” lists can sometimes stir up debate. Though you will surely agree and disagree with some of our picks, we feel our list includes a little bit of everything. We invite you to use it as your personal checklist of books to read (or recommend) in the coming year.

¡Feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Aída Bardales
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