Immigration raids in poultry plants raise concerns

United Methodist News Service
Textbook open, Mariela studies environmental science while her three younger sisters watch TV before bed.
In a few minutes, she will help them brush their teeth and say their bedtime prayers. But the 18-year-old is not babysitting. Mariela is the primary caregiver for her sisters ages 2, 4 and 7 now that their mother is gone––arrested in an immigration raid at her workplace.
“She was not supposed to be at work on that morning,” Mariela said. “My stepfather told her not to go … but she wanted to make some overtime to send more money to (family in) Guatemala.”
U.S. immigration officers arrested Mariela’s mother April 16 at the Pilgrim’s Pride poultry processing plant in Chattanooga during a crackdown on an alleged scam to provide fake IDs for illegal immigrant workers. Poultry plants in four other states were also raided.
“I waited for her to get home from work, but she never came,” Mariela said. “I was waiting and waiting. A neighbor called us the next morning to say my mom had been taken. My sisters think she is on vacation in North Carolina. … I cannot tell them she is gone. There is nothing we can do.”
Her mother is being held in Louisiana and awaits likely deportation to Guatemala. Mariela’s stepfather works a shift job and depends on Mariela to care for the children when she’s not in school.
The dilemma is all too common for families broken apart when a family member who is an illegal immigrant is taken into custody. They often leave behind children still in need of parental care. Many of the children are U.S. citizens, born in the United States.
“These are resilient families … but this is simply traumatic,” said the Rev. Mike Feely, pastor of East Lake UMC and director of the Saint Andrews Center, an outreach of The United Methodist Church.
The United Methodist Church has long advocated for comprehensive immigration reform in the United States. At its recent General Conference, the church’s top legislative body adopted a resolution calling for “full protection of all workers, which includes the opportunity to gain legal status for all migrants.” The resolution also urges U.S. lawmakers to ensure that immigration laws do not rip apart families.
About 100 Chattanooga workers were among 280 immigrants arrested following an investigation of employees at Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the nation’s largest chicken-processing companies. The other plants raided were in Mount Pleasant, Texas; Live Oak, Fla.; Moorefield, W.Va.; and Batesville, Ark. According to news reports, those determined to be in the country illegally but not engaged in identity theft may be deported or given the option to leave.