600 Arrested at Louisiana Factory in Largest Immigration Raid in U.S. History

Federal agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency or ICE descended onto the Howard Industries factory early on Monday. They separated all Latino workers from their white and black co-workers, and arrested nearly 600 people. Initial reports of the raid noted that 350 workers had been arrested but on Tuesday federal officials revised the number to 595.

An estimated 475 workers were taken by bus to a detention center 200 miles away in Jena, Louisiana. They have not yet been charged with any crime. A smaller group was released with electronic monitoring ankle bracelets on “humanitarian” grounds. Only eight of those arrested have been charged with aggravated identity theft. Reports indicate that the Howard plant has closed its doors for now, after losing three-fourths of its workforce.

To find out more I’m joined now on the telephone from Jackson Mississippi by Bill Chandler. He’s the Executive Director of the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, one of the primary groups providing services to those affected by the raids.

Bill Chandler, Founding Executive Director of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA). He was also an eyewitness to the brutal immigration raids of the 1950s.