Reports: High price tag from Postville raid

Oftentimes the immigration debate centers on issue of race and national security. But what about the costs related to immigration?

Case in point: federal officials claimed that the price tag of a May 12th immigration raid in Postville, Iowa was approximately $5.2 million. As reported by The Des Moines Register and picked up by the AP, the figures are partial in that they’re from May until mid-August. Yet the taxpayers’ bill comes up to an average of $13,396 for each of the 389 illegal immigrants arrested.

One local politico tried to defend the high cost of the Postville:

U.S. Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican, disagreed. He said immigration laws must be enforced, regardless of the expense to taxpayers.

"If we start saying, 'Well, it costs too much money to enforce the law,' then we will see more and more of these radical, pro-illegal immigration activists drive more wedges between us and make it harder to enforce the law," King said.

I would agree with King that excising laws should be implemented except that the status quo hasn’t been working and is in dire need of being repaired. “Enforcement” of a flawed system yields little benefit and the only real “wedges” are among families, communities, and local governments trying to figure out what to do.

Of course, immigration reform requires politicians to stand up and face the issue rather than provide sound bites when they feel it’s convenient. Unfortunately, King’s colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress and the major presidential candidates have viewed immigration as a taboo. Alas, reform is nothing but a distant notion so as long as politicos ignore finding meaningful solutions to the immigration debate.

Image- Time (“Two women attend a press conference at Saint Bridget Parish in Postville, Iowa” shortly after the May raid.)
Sources- chicagotribune.com, SFGate.com, The Des Moines Register