N.Y. Times: Waterloo, Iowa — In temporary courtrooms at a fairgrounds here, 270 illegal immigrantswere sentenced this week to five months in prison for working at ameatpacking plant with false documents.
The prosecutions,which ended Friday, signal a sharp escalation in the Bushadministration’s crackdown on illegal workers, with prosecutorsbringing tough federal criminal charges against most of the immigrantsarrested in a May 12 raid. Until now, unauthorized workers havegenerally been detained by immigration officials for civil violations and rapidly deported.