He’s baaaack and headlining at CPAC

Funny you should mention busloads of “illegal immigrants” and Rep. Rob Wittman (R, VA-01) in the same sentence. You may not know this, so, here goes.

Even after redistricting, Wittman’s 1st District is largely contiguous with Delegate Margaret Bevans Ransone’s old 99th House of Delegates district and her new 67th HOD district. In addition to serving in the House of Delegates, Ransone is Wittman’s anointed successor in Congress. In 2024 or 2026, Wittman will announce that he is leaving Congress (to go to work as a lobbyist for Ingalls Shipbuilding, Boeing, and other defense contractors – although he will not say that part). He will make his announcement with Margaret beaming by his side while he introduces her as his successor.

So what does this have to do with “illegal immigrants”? A lot – you see, Ransone is the daughter of the Bevans Oyster Company family who are multi-millionaires as a result of their seafood operations in Westmoreland County and on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

And who do you think shucks those mountains of oysters and picks those mountains of crabs? Well, I tell you it’s not little Miss Margaret who, in spite of her claims that she learned to shuck oysters and pick crabs in the family business, you can bet she never spent 8 hours a day, stabbing her hand with an oyster knife.

Instead Bevans Oyster Company relies on labor from local blacks and imported Hispanics. That is, until the local blacks got out of their place and starting asking for better wages and working conditions at which point Bevans switched to almost 100% Hispanic labor. Several times each year, 12- and 15-passenger vans from Texas and Louisiana converge on Westmoreland, Richmond, and Northumberland counties where Bevans owns old houses and has their operations. The Hispanic shuckers and pickers are jammed into the houses, have no transportation except to/from work.

Back in the early days of the COVID pandemic, over half the Hispanic workers tested positive for COVID and a number of them had symptoms. The local health departments reported to the State Dept of Health as well as reporting to local EMS, whose personnel needed to know about the risk in case they were called to locations with sick Hispanic workers.

This news stewed around Westmoreland, Richmond, and Northumberland counties for a few days then, POOF!!, — like magic, everyone fell silent, nothing more was said, including VDH and local health departments.

Must be nice to have friends in Richmond.