angela256z
08-26-2008, 10:14 PM
ICE: Nearly 600 detained in Miss. plant raid
Federal officials say nearly 600 suspected illegal immigrants were detained in a raid on a manufacturing plant in southern Mississippi, making it the largest such sweep in the country.
By HOLBROOK MOHR
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008124919_apimmigrationraid.html
Associated Press Writer
LAUREL, Miss. —
Federal officials say nearly 600 suspected illegal immigrants were detained in a raid on a manufacturing plant in southern Mississippi, making it the largest such sweep in the country.
A spokeswoman says more than 100 of those caught up in Monday's raid on Howard Industries were released based on humanitarian concerns, mostly because they have children.
Most of the rest were transferred to a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, La. Nine 17-year-olds were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The Mississippi raid was one of a series of recent high-profile crackdowns on illegal immigrants. In May, officials swept into the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa and detained 400 workers.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LAUREL, Miss. (AP) - The federal agents arrived by the dozens, driving unmarked cars and white vans. They sealed off the entrances of a manufacturing plant in south Mississippi and rounded up hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants.
By Monday afternoon, 350 people at the facility that makes electrical transformers had been identified as working in the country illegally, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And, she said, agents weren't finished processing the workers at Howard Industries Inc. in Laurel.
So many workers were caught up in the operation, the facility was reportedly shut down for the day. The company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies, according to its Web site.
"This is a targeted enforcement operation that is part of an ongoing ICE investigation that has revealed that illegal aliens are employed at Howard Industries," Gonzalez said.
She declined to say how many federal agents were involved in the raid, but said they acted on a tip provided by a union worker.
In a statement to the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper, Howard Industries said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs."
"It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants," the statement said.
The company's chief executive officer, Billy Howard, did not respond to a message left by The Associated Press.
The suspected illegal workers were loaded into white vans with shaded windows and driven away as ICE agents guarded the entrances of the massive plant. Some of the agents set up under a tent as sporadic rains swept the area. Motorists traveling on roads behind the plant were stopped by officers in an unmarked vehicle and told to leave.
ICE agents planned to check the residency status of everyone who worked there, said agency spokesman, Brandon Montgomery.
He said 50 people were given alternatives to detention for humanitarian reasons, meaning they could be fitted with a tracking device and order to report to a case worker later.
The raid created hysteria among many in the Hispanic community here. Rumors that federal agents would begin going house-to-house prompted some families to seek refuge at Iglesia Cristiana Penial, a church with a largely Hispanic congregation, said Pastor Roberto Valez. "We gave them refuge because they were afraid to go back to their homes."
The ICE spokeswoman said the rumors of agents going house-to-house were untrue.
Rodolfo Galicia said his 22-year-old brother was detained at Howard Industries.
"Everybody's crying, worried about what's going to happen to him," he said in Spanish.
Valez some of the women detained agreed to leave the country, were fitted with monitoring devices and allowed to leave so they could take care of their children.
A recording at Howard Industries plant on Monday said the telephone switchboard was closed. A man who answered a phone call at the company's security station said reporters would have to call back Tuesday.
Howard Industries was founded in the 1960s. In 2002, state lawmakers approved a $31.5 million, taxpayer-backed incentive plan aimed at helping to expand its operations.
The raid is one of several nationwide in recent years.
On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized from the plant's human resources department, court records showed.
---
Note: ICE says people whose relatives were detained can call for information: 866-341-3858.
Edit:
Immigration raid is largest in U.S. history
The largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history has caused panic among many Hispanic families in Laurel, where federal agents...
By HOLBROOK MOHR
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008140760_raid27.html
The Associated Press
PREV of NEXT
MATT BUSH / AP
Detainees netted in an immigration raid at Howard Industries manufacturing plant in Laurel, Miss., are escorted out of the federal courthouse in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Tuesday.
Related
Fear grips immigrants after Miss. plant raid
Map data ©2008 LeadDog Consulting, Tele Atlas - Terms of UseSee more mapped stories
LAUREL, Miss. — The largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history has caused panic among many Hispanic families in Laurel, where federal agents rounded up nearly 600 plant workers suspected of being in the country illegally.
One worker caught in Monday's sweep at the Howard Industries transformer plant said some fellow workers applauded as immigrants were taken into custody. Federal officials said a tip from a union member prompted them to start investigating several years ago.
Fabiola Pena, 21, cradled her 2-year-old daughter as she described a chaotic scene at the plant as the raid began, followed by clapping.
"I was crying the whole time. I didn't know what to do," Pena said. "We didn't know what was happening because everyone started running. Some people thought it was a bomb but then we figured out it was immigration."
About 100 of the 595 detained workers were released for humanitarian reasons, many of them mothers who were fitted with electronic-monitoring bracelets and allowed to go home to their children, officials said. About 475 other workers were transferred to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Jena, La. Nine who were younger than 18 were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
John Foxworth, an attorney representing some of the immigrants, said eight appeared in federal court in Hattiesburg on Tuesday because they face criminal charges for allegedly using false Social Security and residency identification.
He said the raid was traumatic for families.
"There was no communication, an immediate loss of any kind of news and a lack of understanding of what's happening to their loved ones," he said.
Those detained were from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Peru, said Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman.
Elizabeth Alegria, 26, a Mexican immigrant, was working at the plant Monday when ICE agents stormed in. When they found out she has two sons, 4 and 9, she was fitted with a bracelet and told to appear in federal court next month. Her husband, Andres, was not so lucky.
"I'm very traumatized because I don't know if they are going to let my husband go and when I will see him," Elizabeth Alegria said through a translator Tuesday as she returned to the Howard Industries parking lot to retrieve her sport-utility vehicle.
Howard Industries is in Mississippi's Pine Belt region, known for commercial timber growth and chicken-processing plants. The tech company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies, according to its Web site.
Gonzalez said agents had executed search warrants at the plant and the company headquarters in nearby Ellisville. She said no company executives had been detained, but this is an "ongoing investigation."
In a statement to the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper, Howard Industries said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs."
Gov. Haley Barbour recently signed a law requiring Mississippi employers to use a U.S. Homeland Security system to check new workers' immigration status.
The law took effect July 1 for businesses with state contracts and takes effect Jan. 1 for other businesses.
Under the law, a company found guilty of employing illegal immigrants could lose public contracts for three years and the right to do business in Mississippi for one year.
The law also makes it a felony for an illegal immigrant to accept a job in Mississippi.
The Mississippi raid is one of several nationwide in recent years. On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Federal officials say nearly 600 suspected illegal immigrants were detained in a raid on a manufacturing plant in southern Mississippi, making it the largest such sweep in the country.
By HOLBROOK MOHR
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008124919_apimmigrationraid.html
Associated Press Writer
LAUREL, Miss. —
Federal officials say nearly 600 suspected illegal immigrants were detained in a raid on a manufacturing plant in southern Mississippi, making it the largest such sweep in the country.
A spokeswoman says more than 100 of those caught up in Monday's raid on Howard Industries were released based on humanitarian concerns, mostly because they have children.
Most of the rest were transferred to a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, La. Nine 17-year-olds were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The Mississippi raid was one of a series of recent high-profile crackdowns on illegal immigrants. In May, officials swept into the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa and detained 400 workers.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LAUREL, Miss. (AP) - The federal agents arrived by the dozens, driving unmarked cars and white vans. They sealed off the entrances of a manufacturing plant in south Mississippi and rounded up hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants.
By Monday afternoon, 350 people at the facility that makes electrical transformers had been identified as working in the country illegally, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And, she said, agents weren't finished processing the workers at Howard Industries Inc. in Laurel.
So many workers were caught up in the operation, the facility was reportedly shut down for the day. The company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies, according to its Web site.
"This is a targeted enforcement operation that is part of an ongoing ICE investigation that has revealed that illegal aliens are employed at Howard Industries," Gonzalez said.
She declined to say how many federal agents were involved in the raid, but said they acted on a tip provided by a union worker.
In a statement to the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper, Howard Industries said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs."
"It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants," the statement said.
The company's chief executive officer, Billy Howard, did not respond to a message left by The Associated Press.
The suspected illegal workers were loaded into white vans with shaded windows and driven away as ICE agents guarded the entrances of the massive plant. Some of the agents set up under a tent as sporadic rains swept the area. Motorists traveling on roads behind the plant were stopped by officers in an unmarked vehicle and told to leave.
ICE agents planned to check the residency status of everyone who worked there, said agency spokesman, Brandon Montgomery.
He said 50 people were given alternatives to detention for humanitarian reasons, meaning they could be fitted with a tracking device and order to report to a case worker later.
The raid created hysteria among many in the Hispanic community here. Rumors that federal agents would begin going house-to-house prompted some families to seek refuge at Iglesia Cristiana Penial, a church with a largely Hispanic congregation, said Pastor Roberto Valez. "We gave them refuge because they were afraid to go back to their homes."
The ICE spokeswoman said the rumors of agents going house-to-house were untrue.
Rodolfo Galicia said his 22-year-old brother was detained at Howard Industries.
"Everybody's crying, worried about what's going to happen to him," he said in Spanish.
Valez some of the women detained agreed to leave the country, were fitted with monitoring devices and allowed to leave so they could take care of their children.
A recording at Howard Industries plant on Monday said the telephone switchboard was closed. A man who answered a phone call at the company's security station said reporters would have to call back Tuesday.
Howard Industries was founded in the 1960s. In 2002, state lawmakers approved a $31.5 million, taxpayer-backed incentive plan aimed at helping to expand its operations.
The raid is one of several nationwide in recent years.
On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized from the plant's human resources department, court records showed.
---
Note: ICE says people whose relatives were detained can call for information: 866-341-3858.
Edit:
Immigration raid is largest in U.S. history
The largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history has caused panic among many Hispanic families in Laurel, where federal agents...
By HOLBROOK MOHR
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008140760_raid27.html
The Associated Press
PREV of NEXT
MATT BUSH / AP
Detainees netted in an immigration raid at Howard Industries manufacturing plant in Laurel, Miss., are escorted out of the federal courthouse in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Tuesday.
Related
Fear grips immigrants after Miss. plant raid
Map data ©2008 LeadDog Consulting, Tele Atlas - Terms of UseSee more mapped stories
LAUREL, Miss. — The largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history has caused panic among many Hispanic families in Laurel, where federal agents rounded up nearly 600 plant workers suspected of being in the country illegally.
One worker caught in Monday's sweep at the Howard Industries transformer plant said some fellow workers applauded as immigrants were taken into custody. Federal officials said a tip from a union member prompted them to start investigating several years ago.
Fabiola Pena, 21, cradled her 2-year-old daughter as she described a chaotic scene at the plant as the raid began, followed by clapping.
"I was crying the whole time. I didn't know what to do," Pena said. "We didn't know what was happening because everyone started running. Some people thought it was a bomb but then we figured out it was immigration."
About 100 of the 595 detained workers were released for humanitarian reasons, many of them mothers who were fitted with electronic-monitoring bracelets and allowed to go home to their children, officials said. About 475 other workers were transferred to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Jena, La. Nine who were younger than 18 were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
John Foxworth, an attorney representing some of the immigrants, said eight appeared in federal court in Hattiesburg on Tuesday because they face criminal charges for allegedly using false Social Security and residency identification.
He said the raid was traumatic for families.
"There was no communication, an immediate loss of any kind of news and a lack of understanding of what's happening to their loved ones," he said.
Those detained were from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Peru, said Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman.
Elizabeth Alegria, 26, a Mexican immigrant, was working at the plant Monday when ICE agents stormed in. When they found out she has two sons, 4 and 9, she was fitted with a bracelet and told to appear in federal court next month. Her husband, Andres, was not so lucky.
"I'm very traumatized because I don't know if they are going to let my husband go and when I will see him," Elizabeth Alegria said through a translator Tuesday as she returned to the Howard Industries parking lot to retrieve her sport-utility vehicle.
Howard Industries is in Mississippi's Pine Belt region, known for commercial timber growth and chicken-processing plants. The tech company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies, according to its Web site.
Gonzalez said agents had executed search warrants at the plant and the company headquarters in nearby Ellisville. She said no company executives had been detained, but this is an "ongoing investigation."
In a statement to the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper, Howard Industries said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs."
Gov. Haley Barbour recently signed a law requiring Mississippi employers to use a U.S. Homeland Security system to check new workers' immigration status.
The law took effect July 1 for businesses with state contracts and takes effect Jan. 1 for other businesses.
Under the law, a company found guilty of employing illegal immigrants could lose public contracts for three years and the right to do business in Mississippi for one year.
The law also makes it a felony for an illegal immigrant to accept a job in Mississippi.
The Mississippi raid is one of several nationwide in recent years. On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company