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April 27, 2014 | 10:31 am
POSTVILLE - The day of the raid at Postville's largest employer, a siren sounded, signaling a fire somewhere in town. Police Chief Michael Halse stood in this same intersection directing traffic for the fire department. That's when he first saw ICE agents and their trucks roll through to the plant.
He says, "It was disheartening, because there were families we felt trying to make a living."
A few decades back, Halse moved here from an even smaller town for a bigger challenge. But the last few months have almost been overwhelming.
"Agriprocessors is trying to get new workers in to try to start filling the shifts, so things really started to change pretty fast."
When federal agents arrested 400 of the plant's workers, others soon filled the void. And it's not that they are just replacement workers. A lot of them are also temporary. I spoke to one man who told me he's leaving after just ten days. That kind of turnaround makes it even more difficult for police.
"We don't know their backgrounds. We don't know where they come from and it's all a learning process all over again."
Halse says crime has gone up slightly, and now he is trying to hire another officer to help out. Once called the "Hometown to the World," he hopes things in Postville will start to go back to normal. But he believes that could still be years away.
He says, "It was disheartening, because there were families we felt trying to make a living."
A few decades back, Halse moved here from an even smaller town for a bigger challenge. But the last few months have almost been overwhelming.
"Agriprocessors is trying to get new workers in to try to start filling the shifts, so things really started to change pretty fast."
When federal agents arrested 400 of the plant's workers, others soon filled the void. And it's not that they are just replacement workers. A lot of them are also temporary. I spoke to one man who told me he's leaving after just ten days. That kind of turnaround makes it even more difficult for police.
"We don't know their backgrounds. We don't know where they come from and it's all a learning process all over again."
Halse says crime has gone up slightly, and now he is trying to hire another officer to help out. Once called the "Hometown to the World," he hopes things in Postville will start to go back to normal. But he believes that could still be years away.
