Add meatpacking to that list of American jobs — janitorial services, for instance — formerly held by citizens that paid a living wage.
According to Self Reliance Central, "Meatpacking was once a stable, middle-class union job, with skilled families working at the same plant for generations.
"In 1960, the industry was 95 percent unionized, offering wages similar to those in auto and steel. Workers were skilled, trained just like traditional butchers to process the entire carcass from slaughter to final cuts."
That was the high point of the industry as far as the workers were concerned.
Then at least one company introduced "efficiency" into the process and workers were then relegated to performing repetitive tasks.
This purportedly led to increased turnover, solved by hiring illegal immigrants.
Now meatpacking is an industry built on the backs of illegals and taxpayer-funded assistance.
NBC News tried to produce a tear-jerker story involving a meatpacker, but only succeeded in making the case for mass deportations.
"Seventy-six people working at Glenn Valley Foods were arrested by federal immigration authorities Tuesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News in an email.
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the arrests were part of an enforcement operation to execute a federal search warrant in connection to an investigation into “the large-scale employment of aliens without legal work authorization."
The 76 illegals detained represent a large proportion of the total employment at the plant.
By Friday, three days after the raid, only 80 employees showed up for work.
An executive commented, "The process of re-hiring new workers feels like asking someone to replace a family member. 'You cannot, in my mind,' he said. 'They were part of our family, and they were taken away.'"
Both NBC and the executive share that strange viewpoint affecting those on the left that breaking immigration law for a long time somehow gives the lawbreaker tenure.
It’s like if ICE doesn’t catch you within the first year, then the illegal immigrant is home free and it’s time to start looking into voter registration.
This raid from nowhere looks like it is having the desired effect,
"News of the ICE raid this week sent a crippling, chilling effect across the city. The local library and community college closed early on Tuesday.
"Construction sites and other workplaces have been desolate. South Omaha’s business district, known as a vibrant Hispanic and immigrant enclave, shut down immediately after the raid."
Translation: A well known hideout for illegals closed since the posse was getting close.
This points out how successful the strategy was.
One high profile raid sends a message to all the illegals in the area. It’s quite possible many of the other Omaha illegals will self-deport as almost one million have already done.
At a minimum they won’t be flaunting their status for a while.
Naturally, the racially-obsessed NBC reporter started looking for people with a lot of vowels in their last name to comment.
Which brought us to Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia, a choice filled with irony since his wife’s aunt was one of the illegal immigratns swept up in the raid.
"A lot of these individuals have been here for many years, if not decades, raising a family here, have citizen children and family members here, and they don’t fit that profile of being the high-level criminals that are supposed to be the priority for immigration enforcement," Garcia said.
This statement points out the fatal flaw on the "deporting criminals" justification the Trump administration is using.
We voted for mass deportations. . . which means all illegal immigrants: criminal kingpins all the way down to auntie.
The "criminals" public relations ploy only serves to give the left even more to complain about.
And we heard from another business owner.
"An owner of a business selling accessories in South Omaha’s predominantly Latino business district, said many of the detained people were her customers. 'There are just too many families who were affected,' she said in Spanish."
"Said in Spanish," so much for assimilation.
America faces a number of problems these days.
Overcrowding in schools and emergency rooms, lack of affordable housing, as well as wages held down by competition with illegal immigrants.
All of these problems will be helped — if not solved — by two words: Mass deportations.
The sooner the Trump administration ramps up its efforts, the better.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.