ATLANTA—“They handcuffed me and held me for eight hours without food, water, or letting me use the bathroom,” said U.S.-born Mike Graves, who was detained in the December 2006 immigration raid at the Swift plant in Marshalltown, Iowa, for not being able to produce identification that he had left in his locker.

Graves, above, was testifying here May 29 at a hearing organized by the National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violation of 4th Amendment Rights attended by some 150 people. The commission was formed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union in response to raids and deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Justeen Mancha described how immigration cops busted into her home in Reidsville, Georgia, in 2006 after raiding a nearby poultry plant. Her mother, a U.S. citizen, had worked at the plant previously.

The Atlanta hearing was attended by representatives of the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Operation Rainbow PUSH. “This is a civil rights fight,” said Janice Mathis from Operation PUSH in her testimony.

—EDDIE BECK AND SUSAN LAMONT