Undocumented workers brace for ICE raids, mass deportation under Trump

Summary

Consider This from NPR: Undocumented Workers Brace for ICE Raids and Mass Deportation Under Trump

Release Date: November 25, 2024

In this gripping episode of NPR’s “Consider This,” host Ari Shapiro delves into the escalating tension surrounding immigration enforcement in the United States, particularly focusing on the impending ICE raids and mass deportations under the Trump administration. Through personal narratives, expert analysis, and firsthand accounts, the episode paints a comprehensive picture of the profound impact these policies have on individuals and communities alike.

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1. Trump’s Aggressive Immigration Agenda

The episode opens with a discussion on President Elect Trump’s campaign emphasis on immigration. Shapiro highlights Trump's commitment to what he calls "the largest deportation operation in the history of the United States."

Ari Shapiro [00:01]: "The issue that President Elect Trump hammered most on the campaign trail was immigration."

Cliff Johnson [00:06]: "We will begin the largest deportation operation in the history of the United States."

Trump’s strategy extends beyond securing the border and targeting individuals with violent criminal records. The administration plans to intensify workplace raids, targeting undocumented workers irrespective of their proximity to the border.

Ari Shapiro [00:11]: "He's also preparing to resume workplace raids, arresting people who may have been in the country for years far from the border."

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2. The Resurgence of Workplace Raids

Tom Homan, Trump’s appointed border czar and former acting director of ICE, underscores the administration’s rationale for these raids.

Tom Homan [00:31]: "Where do operations have to happen? Where do we find most victims of sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking? At work sites."

These operations mirror those from Trump’s first term, indicating a persistent and intensified approach to immigration enforcement.

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3. Personal Toll on Communities: Stories from Morton, Mississippi

The heart of the episode centers on Morton, Mississippi, a small town deeply affected by ICE’s aggressive policies. Shapiro introduces Patty, a local business owner whose life was upended by a mass raid in 2019.

Patty [00:45]: "In my 19 years living here, I've never seen anything on a scale so big."

The 2019 raid saw ICE arresting 680 individuals employed at local chicken processing plants, leaving the community in fear of further interventions.

Patty [01:11]: "This is a small town, so people are really suffering. The Latino community here was holding up the chicken plant. Not anymore."

Patty’s personal anguish is palpable as she describes the daily fear her family endures.

Patty [02:08]: "Whenever I leave the house, my little boy worries if I'll come home. He cries."

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4. The Return of ICE Raids and Tom Homan’s Role

With Trump reinstating Tom Homan as the border czar, the threat of renewed raids looms large.

Tom Homan [02:50]: "I'm pissed off about what this administration did to the most secure board in my lifetime. So I'm going to go back and do what I can to fix it."

Shapiro juxtaposes past raids with current preparations, illustrating a community bracing for potential repeat offenses.

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5. Legal and Corporate Accountability

Cliff Johnson, an immigration attorney and director of the MacArthur Justice Center, provides critical insights into the legal ramifications of these raids.

Cliff Johnson [04:36]: "Families were torn apart. People were terrified because of an investigation that purportedly was focused on chicken processing companies... but the evidence... were actual human beings who'd been living here among us for years."

Johnson questions the effectiveness and intent behind targeting workers instead of higher-level corporate executives, noting a lack of severe repercussions for company leaders.

Cliff Johnson [06:09]: "The notion that the corporations themselves or anybody high up in the corporations having been prosecuted and sent to prison or punished severely, that's just not what this was about."

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6. Community Mobilization and Preparedness

In response to past raids, communities like Morton have since organized to mitigate future impacts. Johnson details the proactive measures taken to support undocumented individuals.

Cliff Johnson [07:55]: "There are people who have literal raid packets, information... where they can keep their identification documents together, where they have a plan for the care of their children..."

These grassroots efforts, primarily led by immigrant women, aim to create a resilient support network to prevent families from being torn apart unexpectedly.

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7. The Broader Impact on Society

Addressing the contentious debate on immigration enforcement, Johnson emphasizes the extensive societal repercussions of mass deportations.

Cliff Johnson [09:07]: "There are tremendous implications for taking the people who are already here and ripping them away from their local communities and from their families... It affects the local businesses... The richness of our culture and community in places like small town Mississippi are negatively impacted."

He argues that while securing borders and enforcing immigration laws are important, the human cost and community fragmentation present significant drawbacks that must be considered.

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Conclusion

Ari Shapiro concludes by reflecting on the enduring legacy of the 2019 raids and the uncertain future under Trump’s administration. The episode underscores the delicate balance between national security and humanitarian considerations, urging listeners to contemplate the real human stories behind immigration policies.

Ari Shapiro [03:02]: "The ice raid of Mississippi chicken plants upended lives five years ago. Now people in the town of Morton are preparing for the possibility of a sequel."

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Production Credits:

• Produced by Tyler Bartlam, Brianna Scott, Connor Donovan, and Mark Rivers
• Edited by Courtney Dorning and Sarah Handel
• Original reporting by Gus Contreras and Dave Blanchard
• Executive Producer: Sami Yenigun

Final Note: This episode of “Consider This” offers a profound exploration of the intersection between immigration policy and community stability, providing listeners with an in-depth understanding of the ongoing challenges faced by undocumented workers and their neighbors.

Transcript

[Ari Shapiro]

The issue that President Elect Trump hammered most on the campaign trail was immigration.

[Cliff Johnson]

We will begin the largest deportation operation in the history of the United States.

[Ari Shapiro]

DWIGHT his plans aren't only focused on the border or on people who've committed violent crimes. He's also preparing to resume workplace raids, arresting people who may have been in the country for years far from the border. Trump's incoming border czar, Tom Homan, spoke on Fox earlier this month about why he views those raids as necessary.

[Tom Homan]

Where do operations have to happen? Where do we find most victims of sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking? At work sites.

[Ari Shapiro]

Those operations were a big part of Trump's first term, too.

[Patty]

In my 19 years living here, I've never seen anything on a scale so big.

[Ari Shapiro]

Patty lived in Morton, Mississippi when I visited there in 2019. A few months earlier, Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested 680 people working at chicken processing plants in the area. Patty asked us to only use her first name because everybody in the community was afraid ICE agents would make a return visit.

[Patty]

This is a small town, so people are really suffering. The Latino community here was holding up the chicken plant. Not anymore.

[Ari Shapiro]

What changed after the raid in August?

[Cliff Johnson]

I feel different.

[Patty]

Todolo diaz Every day we think we'll leave the house and not come back. It's hard. It's very scary.

[Ari Shapiro]

When I met Patty, she was working behind the counter at the small shop she owned called Mercadito. A woman shopping for groceries asked to be called Elisa out of fears similar to those Patty expressed. Elisa told me when ICE agents burst into the plant, she was at work deboning chickens.

[Patty]

I have three kids, so that was the most painful part for me because my baby, who was six years old, suffered a lot. He cried, begging me to come back to them.

[Ari Shapiro]

Her husband wasn't at work the day of the raids. When he did show up at the plant, he was fired.

[Patty]

Whenever I leave the house, my little boy worries if I'll come home. He cries.

[Ari Shapiro]

If you could talk to the ICE agents, what would you say to them?

[Patty]

Quite simply, I'd tell them, you ruined our lives. If I have to leave the country. For example, I had plans to buy a house, to start a business, and with what happened, all those plans are lost.

[Ari Shapiro]

That was five years ago. Now Trump has named Tom Homan to be border czar. He was acting director of ICE during Trump's first term, and he recently told Fox and Friends he is eager to get to work.

[Tom Homan]

I think that the calling is clear. I gotta go back and hope because every morning I get every Morning. I'm pissed off about what this administration did to the most secure board in my lifetime. So I'm going to go back and do what I can to fix it.

[Ari Shapiro]

Consider this the ice raid of Mississippi chicken plants upended lives five years ago. Now people in the town of Morton are preparing for the possibility of a sequel. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro.

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[Ari Shapiro]

It'S consider this from npr. To understand the impact these raids had on Mississippi and what the next four years could look like, we called Cliff Johnson. He's an immigration attorney and director of the MacArthur Justice center at the University of Mississippi. He told me the 2019 raids had repercussions that were significant and horrific.

[Cliff Johnson]

You know, this was the first day of school for more than a thousand children impacted by these raids. And they learned at the end of the school day that there may not be anybody at home waiting for them. Families were torn apart. People were terrified because of an investigation that purportedly was focused on chicken processing companies, in this case, that employed folks. But the evidence of the bad acts, the items seized in the search warrant, were actual human beings who'd been living here among us for years and years.

[Ari Shapiro]

When I visited Mississippi, I spoke with ICE Special Agent Jerry Miles, who helped organize the operations. And he told me this.

[Tom Homan]

We're building a criminal investigation against a target. And pursuant to that criminal investigation, we encountered and detained undocumented workers.

[Ari Shapiro]

But many people have observed that company executives were not detained that day, only the workers were.

[Tom Homan]

That's why we keep saying it's an ongoing criminal investigation.

[Ari Shapiro]

That was five years ago. So to this day, has anyone high up in the companies that employed these undocumented workers face legal consequences?

[Cliff Johnson]

I think the key term there is high up in these cases. I think there may have been a handful of mid level managers who've been held accountable, maybe sentenced to probation. But the notion that the corporations themselves or anybody high up in the corporations having been prosecuted and sent to prison or punished severely, that's just not what this was about. And I don't think it's what it was about from the very beginning. This wasn't a response to an outcry from a local community where folks were arguing that immigrants were committing crimes and making us less safe. We were coexisting happily with these people. We've known them from our public schools and from our little league fields. And this was about somebody far away making a decision to do this.

[Ari Shapiro]

What reason do these companies give for continuing to hire undocumented workers even as they've experienced raids in the past and know there could be more in the future?

[Cliff Johnson]

I don't know what they would say publicly. My expectation and understanding is that they first and foremost need somebody actually willing to do the job. And jobs like these are done by people who don't have lots of other choices. If they could get jobs that didn't require them to stand on that line and deal with those smells and deal with the messiness of that work, they would take those jobs. These are the types of employees who don't have significant power when it comes to negotiating wages. These are workers who are easily controlled and who will work extremely hard in order to support their families and to meet their basic needs.

[Ari Shapiro]

How has the community organized since 2019 to be prepared for what the next four years might bring?

[Cliff Johnson]

When these raids took place in 2019, we didn't have even the ability to know who had been hauled off. They don't leave you a list of people that they took. What this looks like now is there are people who have literal raid packets, information that's been provided to them about the information they should have readily available for people who seek to provide aid, where they can keep their identification documents together, where they have a plan for the care of their children, where there's a network of people prepared to provide transportation to and from detention facilities, and where advocacy organizations like ours are working to even conduct a dry run of a mass raid. None of that was in place in 2019. And what's so important to note is, you know, these organizations that have been doing this are grassroots communities of largely immigrant women who have decided that we're not going to get caught off guard like that again.

[Ari Shapiro]

What do you say to somebody who doesn't want to see families separated, doesn't want to see people suffer, but wants to see accountability for people who cross the border illegally?

[Cliff Johnson]

Look, I've always recognized that this is a difficult question on which people of good faith can disagree. What I'd say is there are tremendous implications for taking the people who are already here and ripping them away from their local communities and from their families. It affects the local businesses where those people shop. It affects the companies that employ them. Areas of construction and agriculture, manufacturing and food processing. The landlords who rent them homes and apartments are impacted. The richness of our culture and community in places like small town Mississippi are negatively impacted. So there are consequences of this.

[Ari Shapiro]

That was Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Justice center at the University of Mississippi. This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam, Brianna Scott, Connor Donovan and Mark Rivers. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Sarah Handel. Our original reporting from Mississippi back in 2019 was produced by Gus Contreras and Dave Blanchard. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's consider this from npr. I'm Ari Shapiro.

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