Rural Georgia Town Highlights Complexities Of Illegal Immigration Issue

For local African-Americans, the appearance of federal agents at the Crider company presented an "unexpected opportunity." Hourly wages were increased, "the company began offering free transportation from nearby towns and free rooms in a company-owned dormitory near to the plant." And, for the first time in years, the company sought workers from the local employment office.

"For the first time since significant numbers of Latinos began arriving in Stillmore in the late 1990s, the plant's processing lines were made up predominantly of African-Americans. The sudden reversal of economic fortunes in Stillmore underscores some of the most complex aspects of the pitched debate over immigration: Do illegal immigrants take jobs from low-skilled American workers? The answer in Stillmore initially appeared to be yes."

"But in the months since Crider began hiring hundreds of African-Americans, the answer has become more complex. The plant has struggled with high turnover among black workers, lower productivity and pay disputes between the new employees and labor contractors. The allure of compliant Latino workers willing to accept grueling conditions despite rock-bottom pay has proved a difficult habit for Crider to shake, particularly because the local, native-born workers who replaced them are more likely to complain about working conditions and aggressively assert what they believe to be legal pay and workplace rights."

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