300 Illegals Lose Jobs

(Tar Heel, North Carolina) An estimated 300 workers scattered due to pesky identification problems.

From NewsObserver.com:

Hundreds of workers at a Smithfield Packing plant in Tar Heel have left their jobs or stopped showing up for work after a crackdown on illegal immigrants at the world's largest hog slaughterhouse.

Many have submitted resignation letters and collected pay for unused vacation, while others identified by the company in November as having unverifiable employment documents quit without notice, company spokesman Dennis Pittman said.

In all, Pittman said, about 300 employees had left the huge plant in Bladen County on their own as of Monday.

Interestingly, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union has, again, accused Smithfield of cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to "quell immigrant employees." According to Leila McDowell, a spokeswoman for the Smithfield Justice Campaign, a union organizing effort, "... Smithfield is manipulating immigration laws to intimidate workers."

I don't think so. It seems that Smithfield and ICE are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. Unfortunately, this type of immigration enforcement action seldom has staying power. Usually right after media interest wanes, illegals return and everybody looks the other way.

Companion post at Diggers Realm.