The biggest punishment meted out so far

The remarkable thing is, we cannot imagine it having happened any differently.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said all the right things at first: that public safety was paramount; that recovering the remains of the three workers known to have died was just as important; and that the building’s developer would be held responsible.

That last one has not happened. The biggest punishment meted out so far has been to Delmer Ramirez Palma, a Honduran national and experienced steelworker who had repeatedly insisted the construction project was not safe. Two days after the collapse, Ramirez Palma, who had been in the U.S. for 18 years, was arrested for fishing without a license; he was deported to Honduras a month later by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.