Marshalltown, Iowa – Everyone knew they were there, doing dirty and dangerous work in the massive meatpacking plant. They had come a long way – more than 1,000 miles, from impoverished rural Mexico to the lush corn country of the Midwest. Some folks looked the other way; others offered a helping hand.
Then federal agents swept through, and the complicated bargain Marshalltown had with illegal immigration was laid bare.
This town in the heart of middle America that has been transformed – even rejuvenated – by immigration stands as a symbol of the agonizing predicaments and pressures faced by many communities.
“You’re caught in the middle,” said Mayor Gene Beach. “It’s a matter of enforcing the immigration laws while recognizing families are trying to improve their life. How do you balance that?”
As the presidential candidates cross Iowa, their speeches bristling with catch phrases about the border, Marshalltown is confronting the real-life consequences of a problem whose roots are far away.
“If you’ve got a leaky hot-water heater, you’ve got to fix the leak before the mess,” Police Chief Lon Walker said. “We’ve got the leak at the border. The mess is in Marshalltown.”
Twice in the past nine months, federal agents have swooped down on illegal immigrants at the town’s largest employer, the giant Swift & Co. pork processing plant. More than 100 people were arrested as part of a national crackdown.
Francisco Vargas Acosta was among those apprehended in December. He is fighting deportation.
“I’m not a bad guy,” Vargas said, sitting in his living room decorated with family photos and knickknacks. “I just want to stay here for my kids. There’s more of a future here. In Mexico, there’s nothing.”
“We all want to better ourselves; we want better things for our kids,” said Detective Dane Zuercher. “But you can’t commit a crime to make that happen.”
The town can’t thrive without immigrants. The dramatic growth in the Latino population – from a few hundred in 1990 to perhaps as much as 20 percent of the 26,000 residents now – has pumped new blood into this aging community.
“The leaders know darn well this town would really be suffering if not for the influx of refugees,” said Mark Grey, a University of Northern Iowa immigration expert. “They can wax nostalgic for the good old days, but the good old days are gone.”
Several times, town leaders have signed on to join Grey to travel to Villachuato, a dusty, poor farming village in Mexico that is the source of many of Marshalltown’s immigrants.
“I wanted them to understand the economic conditions that drive people out of Mexico,” Grey said.
