Vol. 72/No. 35      September 8, 2008

All entrances to the plant were sealed by heavily armed ICE officers wearing flak vests, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Hispanic workers were segregated from other plant employees, and mobile trailers were set up to conduct interrogations of workers, most of whom were then taken to nearby jails.

Nearly 500 of the 595 arrested are being held at the new ICE detention center in Jena, Louisiana. Others are being held in Mississippi jails.

An attorney for eight of the workers said they face criminal charges of using false Social Security cards and identification papers. If convicted they could get two years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.

ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said the raid was the first part of an ongoing investigation.

“We began getting indications that ICE was planning something about 10 days ago,” explained Bill Chandler, executive director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA), in a telephone interview with the Militant. MIRA is helping organize defense for the workers arrested, as well as aiding families affected by the raid. In addition to U.S.-born Black and white workers, many of the 800 workers at Howard are immigrants from Mexico, Panama, Brazil, Guatemala, Germany, and other countries. The plant is organized by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

“We began to get calls from workers on the Gulf Coast and in the Hattiesburg and Laurel area that ICE was becoming more visible,” Chandler said. “Others told us that ICE was recruiting legal staff and judges in the area, another indication that a raid was coming.”

“We organized a series of meetings in the Latino community on the Coast and in Hattiesburg and Laurel, and volunteers went door-to-door with information to let people know what their rights are, to help workers prepare for what was coming,” Chandler said.

MIRA is asking for messages of protest against the raid to be sent to ICE and to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour at gov@governor.state.ms.us.
 
 
Related articles:
Workers protest killing of immigrant by Maryland cop
3 face trial in killing of immigrant in Pennsylvania
Legalize undocumented workers!  
 
 
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