Hometown of the World: The Postville Raid

The logo of the City of Postville, Iowa declares that it is the “Hometown of the World.”  Given that moniker, the infamous Postville immigration raid may seem out of place.

In May 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other law enforcement agencies conducted what is known as the Postville raid at the Agriprocessors, Inc. meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa.  900 agents arrested 398 employees, 98% of whom were Latino.  Men were detained at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa, women were detained in county jails. Roughly300 were convicted on the document fraud charges; 297 of them served a five-month prison sentence before being deported.

Here is a some culture for the immigration crowd and those interested in the Postville raid.  The Santa Fe Opera is presenting the world premiere of “Hometown to the World,” a work inspired by the raid and its impact on Postville.

Friday, December 17 at 7:00 pm (World Premiere)
Sunday, December 19 at 2:00 pm

The Lensic Performing Arts Center
211 W. San Francisco Street
Santa Fe, NM 87501

KJ