I think he's trying to make the case that Smithfield obeying Federal law is equivalent to the beatings miners got in WVa back at the turn of the 20th Century.
He IS a mouthpiece, after all, so one only expects drivel to emerge. Sad to see this kind of distortion this fast being treated this seriously by alleged adult reporters. These people should, of course, know better (likely they do) but the problem is getting wrapped around both the Catholic angle AND the poor angle, not to mention that these are 'persons of color'. Rather a bonanza for the hypocritical leftist press, wouldn't you say?
What's increasingly bugging me is reporters who simply write down whatever nonsense some spokesbeing utters and don't ask probing questions, such as, "What duty does Smithfield have to prevent its workers from being arrested by federal authorities?" If this is the current standard of journalism, newspapers and TV stations should just fire their reporters and let people submit the news via a web page.