Mississippi immigration raid… FACTS
1. On August 7th, 2019, U.S. immigration authorities raided 7 different processing plants in Mississippi and detained 680 undocumented immigrants.
2. This was the largest single-state immigration enforcement action in U.S. history.
August 7, 2019, was the first day of school for many students in America. It was also a day some students will never forget. On this day, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided 7 food processing plants in six different cities in the state of Mississippi. US Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Mike Hurst, has been quoted saying that the raids are “believed to be the largest single-state immigration enforcement operation in our nation’s history.” It has been reported that 680 undocumented immigrants were taken into custody while working.
Towns that were raided included Morton, Bay Springs, Walnut Grove, Carthage, Canton, and Pelahatchie. Many of these small towns rely on the labor of an immigrant workforce and the raids would greatly affect production if those taken into custody remained in detainment.
It is still unknown if the employers willingly hired alleged undocumented immigrants or if any knew at all. There will be a legal question of blame that will begin in the aftermath. However, what has been front and center are the children of these workers who woke up on a Wednesday morning and said goodbye after their parents dropped them off to school and waited in vain for their return. This is the American ICE system of 2019. The federal agency was created post the 9/11 attacks during the George W. Bush administration. With its passage in 2002, it is now one of the most powerful federal law enforcement agencies.
And today, ICE is out of control.
680 people taken into custody in a single day is unfathomable and the American justice system continues to push the envelope in what is deemed acceptable and outrageous. Americans are constantly being told that illegal immigrants are ‘raiding’ our country and are described as dangerous and criminal. While many citizens and immigrants in this country can be categorized as dangerous, it is unfair and disgusting that our country is seizing people without their due process of law. We are turning into an authoritarian county and labeling people based upon the rhetoric of President Trump. It is disgusting and undemocratic.
Children of parents who are taken into custody are left without proper guardians or care and this is the story we don’t focus on. Many of these children were either brought here or born here and had no decision about their assimilation into American culture. And regardless of their circumstances, where is the humanity in our federal government’s actions? Where is the humanity in policy? Of course, this country has a problem with illegal immigration, but what country doesn’t? We should work to figure out a proper way to address immigration and not use our powers to disrupt and interrupt the lives of immigrants who are actively contributing to the fabric of our nation because of pressure by the president.
Similar Read: “Newspeak”
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