Free Republic

A former U.S. Attorney appointed by President Obama who previously came under scrutiny by the Jewish Orthodox community may soon be confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a federal judgeship, after she received a majority vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Stephanie Rose, 39, was recently nominated for a lifetime appointment by President Obama in the Southern District of Iowa. Rose’s appointment is controversial within the Orthodox Jewish community because of her previous involvement in the prosecution of Sholom Rubashkin, the former CEO of a now-bankrupt, Iowa-based Kosher meatpacking company that was accused of employing hundreds of illegal immigrants and...

For months, CBS News has been following the deepening troubles of tiny Postville, Iowa, population 2,200. Now the shutdown of the town's main employer following a federal immigration raid has Postville at the point of desperation... Postville, Iowa was just decorated with holiday cheer. But looks can be deceiving. "In the last few weeks - it's really gone downhill dramatically," says Mayor Bob Penrod. With empty streets - and shuttered shops - this small town is facing economic calamity. Penrod is taking steps this weekend to declare a state of emergency here - but not a natural disaster - rather...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) --- Recalling the devastating consequences suffered by workers and families affected by a 2008 immigration raid at a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa

Agriprocessors' former CEO Sholom Rubashkin pleaded not guilty today in U.S. District Court to 12-counts involving illegal immigrants, identity theft and bank fraud. Rubashkin, 49, of Postville, was charged with two additional charges in this second superseding indictment of harboring undocumented aliens for profit and conspiracy to commit document fraud. He was previously charged with conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, aiding and abetting document fraud, six counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft and two counts of bank fraud. -Operations manager Brent Beebe, 51, and poultry managers Hosam Amara, 44, and Zeev Levi, all of Postville, are...

Postville has lost more than a quarter of its pre-raid population of 2,300. Besides the detained workers, scores more fled or went into hiding. People were pushed out of jobs and homes. Children were separated from parents. Businesses verged toward collapse.

CEDAR RAPIDS - Two supervisors at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville on Thursday became the first known members of the company's management to be arrested after a federal immigration raid of the company in May. A federal arrest warrant has been issued for another Agriprocessors employee whose whereabouts are unknown. Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, and Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43, are accused of encouraging illegal immigrants to work at the plant, in some cases even helping them obtain false documents before the raid. The two men were arrested at Agriprocessors on Thursday morning by U.S. marshals and were...