ClarionLedger.com
Applicants line up to fill jobs open after plant raid
August 27, 2008
LAUREL — Howard Industries found itself at the center of activity again Tuesday.
Hundreds of job applicants lined up, eager to take advantage of the sudden job openings at the plant located in Jones County, where the unemployment rate is 6.3 percent.
ICE agents on Monday seized 595 plant workers suspected of being in the country illegally. Several workers, who did not identify themselves, said Tuesday they were working and trying to keep the plant operational in the wake of the sudden loss of co-workers.
They said it was common knowledge many of their co-workers were suspected to be illegal.
It's an idea that maddens Samantha Stevens, 18, of Heidelberg, who was among those who pulled up to Avenue A across from the plant's entrance throughout the day. She said she has been unable to find a job since she graduated from Heidelberg High School in the spring and blames, in part, the willingness of companies to hire illegal workers.
"We were here first. It's not fair for them to have a job," she explained.
Others welcomed the vacancies left by the detained workers.
Gwendolyn Watkins, 40, of Stonewall said she drove 40 miles to Laurel to fill out an application with the electronics maker. She worked at Tower Automotive in Meridian as a production worker for eight months before job cuts in June left her unemployed.
She now hopes to get on at Howard, and said that, while "everyone needs a job," she believes that legal workers should be the priority.
But for Samantha Sanchez, the issue wasn't quite so clear-cut. She filled out her application at the plant, and, in the process, revisited a scene that caused her anguish the previous day. Her husband, Juan Sanchez, a welder, was one of the workers detained in Monday's raid, and she hasn't spoken to him since he called her Monday morning.
She said her husband, who has been living in the United States for 10 years and working on an immigration case for six, was on the verge of achieving permanent residency.
She also spoke to the issue of fairness that has the government secreting her husband and the father of her four children.
"He doesn't drink; he doesn't smoke. He takes care of his kids," she said.
As to why she would return so soon to this place, Sanchez, who's currently unemployed and had previously worked at Howard as a coil winder, said it comes down to dollars and cents.
"I have to feed my family," she said.
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Well, lady - so do a lot of Americans, who have been pushed aside in favor of illegals like your husband.
Here's a thought: Take your kids and re-join your husband back in your country, until he achieves permanent residency, of course - whenever that may be.
Frankly, I don't care.
It's Samantha Stevens, and Gwendolyn Watkins who get my sympathy - and all the American workers who have been shat upon by the likes of the criminal management and owner Billy Howard at Howard Industries, in favor of cheap, illegal aliens like your husband. But it's not about sympathy- it's about the local economies, the American workers right to a fair shake at getting decent employment.
Lets face it: it's not enough to pull an ICE raid a few times a year (it took the Feds 4 years to get around to raiding this plant). No. The criminal owners like Billy Howard, and complicit managers must be brought to swift justice - jail time for the guilty. Otherwise, expect the hordes from corrupt, bankrupt economies, like those in Central America, to continue pouring in to America.
TV Station 7 ON YOUR SIDE said:
" We are told that these illegals came from various countries, including Germany, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Brazil, El Salvador, and Guatamala.It's time the myth of illegals "doing the jobs that Americans won't do" is laid aside for the truth.
You want the truth? Just ask any of the "hundreds of job applicants lined up, eager to take advantage of the sudden job openings" at Howard Industries. I'll just bet that many of them have to feed their families, too.
Maybe now they'll be able to.
For a quick, concise analysis of factors and forces behind the globalization responsible for this employment crisis in America, and elsewhere, go read Sultan Knish - Dhimmism, Inc
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Democrat=Socialist trackbacked with McCain’s Sex Ed Ad (It's actually an Obama moment pushing for sex ed for kindergartners)
"This “comprehensive” education leaves it up to the teacher to teach what they think is age appropriate. Parents can supposedly opt out, but lets see how that works out for you. The moment you opt out, your on the DCS radar.
These government DCS hacks can strip search your child at school without your knowledge, doctors are mandated to ask personal questions about their parents drinking, smoking etc, for G-D’s sake you can’t even spank your child anymore without fear of going to jail and having your children placed in foster care! Where will it end?"
Rosemary's Thoughts trackbacked with NFL Week 2: 14 Sept 08
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