Federal officials insist that parents and districts were given ample time to make arrangements. Schools, churches, and advocates worked hard to protect the children who were left behind by Wednesday’s raids on immigration. Federal officials gave more details about the “largest single-state immigration enforcement operation” in American history Thursday afternoon. This was just a day after 680 people were taken into custody at multiple Mississippi food processing plants. Around 400 people were still in custody late Thursday. Jere Miles (special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans) stated that they took many steps to ensure that children who were attending school were informed about what was happening and how to contact us. “I can also tell them that we gave them many opportunities to make phone calls.” This contradicts media reports. According to an email obtained from Mississippi Today, 10 cell phones were given to 680 detainees. “As you can see, they were given a heads-up. Miles stated that they were informed while we were conducting the operation. Miles said that they informed them after the search warrant was executed. U.S. attorney Mike Hurst stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t contact anyone other than law enforcement before the raid “…. This is because of the nature of federal criminal search warrants. Officials have not indicated whether any of these companies could face repercussions. Officials provided preliminary figures on raids but acknowledged that agents are still processing so these numbers could change. Bryan Cox, ICE communications director, stated that 680 of the 680 arrested were still in Louisiana and Mississippi custody. Cox didn’t identify any specific locations. Officials said that all juveniles were released. Those who were detained, but not released, will eventually have to appear in front of an immigration judge. ICE released those who were detained and returned them to their original locations. Thursday afternoon, relatives and friends of those who were detained during raids waited outside the Koch Foods Inc. plant in Morton in the hope that their loved ones would return. Gabriela Rosales said that she had waited outside the plant from Wednesday morning when she heard the news, and continued to do so until Thursday morning. She said, “I have been here since 4 AM today and I was there all night last night but no one has yet come.” “This is a terrible circumstance.” She drove her children to school, then returned to the plant to wait. Many people sat in cars, with others looking at them in the same way. Several faith leaders and advocacy groups from the state gathered at the NAACP headquarters, Jackson, Thursday afternoon, to condemn the raid and its aftermath and express their continued support to Mississippians who were affected by it. The group stated that the raids were inconsistent with their values in a statement. We appreciate Mississippi neighbors who work hard and care about their families. Those are precisely the people who were zip-tied yesterday and taken into ICE custody. ”
The government is penalizing the people we have come to love and embrace as our neighbors.