Postville plant seeks bankruptcy

The Iowa meat packing company involved in a massive immigration raid filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.

The bankruptcy filing for Agriprocessors stated that the firm owes between $50 million and $100 million to approximately 400 creditors. First Bank had planned to foreclose the factory located in Postville though that was prevented by the bankruptcy filing.

Agriprocessors is one of the largest purveyors of Kosher meat in the U.S. and its closure could be “potentially devastating” to the Jewish community. Also “devastating” was the impact of the May 12 raid where nearly 400 illegal immigrants were arrested by authorities. A court interpreter claimed allegations of abuse against the workers who were mostly from Mexico and Central America. Additionally, the costs of the raid and subsequent proceedings have been estimated by on Iowan daily to be a minimum of $5.2 million.

Image- New York Times
Sources- The Latin Americanist, New York Times, WSJ.com, AP