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On Wednesday, Dianne received a call. It was her fiance, dialing her from a chicken plant in a nearby Miss. town. He told her ICE was there.
His voice trembling, he said: “Take care of my kids.”
My story on how one family was separated in a major ICE op: buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…
His voice trembling, he said: “Take care of my kids.”
My story on how one family was separated in a major ICE op: buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…
Dianne’s fiance is father to three children, ages 13, 15, and 19, with his ex-wife who was also undocumented and worked at a separate food plant in the area.
Not long after Dianne’s phone call with her fiance she found out that the kids’ mother was also arrested.
Not long after Dianne’s phone call with her fiance she found out that the kids’ mother was also arrested.
Dianne, who requested her last name not be used for fear of consequences for her fiance, sped to the local school where she saw adults coming to pick up children whose parents had been arrested.Some weren’t able to retrieve kids bc they hadn’t been listed as authorized guardians.
On her way out of the school, she saw one girl looking confused, not knowing where to go because her parents had been arrested too.
“They were crying. They were shocked. They’re just worried,” Dianne said of her fiance’s children. “I’m just trying to stay strong for them."
“They were crying. They were shocked. They’re just worried,” Dianne said of her fiance’s children. “I’m just trying to stay strong for them."
John Sandweg, former director of ICE, said the operation would have a long term impact on the immigrant community.
“This is a high profile way to send a message and to create more fear in immigrant communities about ICE and about their ability to live and work in this country."
“This is a high profile way to send a message and to create more fear in immigrant communities about ICE and about their ability to live and work in this country."
Luis Cartagena, a pastor in Morton, Mississippi, said he witnessed ICE agents surround the local chicken processing plant. “It looked like an invasion in a war,” he said.
Cartegna said the operation had already traumatized the Latino community.
“People are terrified,” he said.
Cartegna said the operation had already traumatized the Latino community.
“People are terrified,” he said.
Administrators at one local Miss. school district told me that a shelter was set up at an elementary school in case any children went home and found that their parents were arrested.
Bus drivers were told to monitor each drop off to make sure someone was home.
Bus drivers were told to monitor each drop off to make sure someone was home.
Dianne spent Wednesday trying to track down attorneys to help her fiance and figure out their next steps.
Her fiance’s children were quiet in the afternoon, eating lunch and asking Dianne to help get their parents out of detention.
Their mother’s birthday is on Thurs.
Her fiance’s children were quiet in the afternoon, eating lunch and asking Dianne to help get their parents out of detention.
Their mother’s birthday is on Thurs.
Meanwhile, federal officials did not give specific information regarding the targets of the operation or the nature of the overall criminal investigation.
Prosecutions of employers and owners of companies who knowingly hire undocumented workers can be rare. Researchers at the University of Syracuse found that in the 12 months before March, just 11 employers had been prosecuted.
