PHOTO/CHARLES E. MILLER
In April, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) conducted the largest workplace raid in the last ten years, arresting 97 workers, leaving families in a rural Tennessee town terrorized and heartbroken. More than 550 students didn’t show up for school the next day out of fear that ICE may still be in the town or come back. A teacher, outraged at ICE storming into a workplace and arresting people told the media: These parents are just like other parents, they care for their children and want the best for the kids. These parents and the other students are part of our family. We have to work together to create the best environment for their kids. When commenting on the outpouring of support for the families in their town another teacher said, “What scares us is what more are they [ICE] is capable of and what morecan they get away with. I hope they are watching this. If they thought they could come into this little town and rip 97 people away from their families and no one care, they are wrong.” (Now This News)
Also in April, an immigrant rights activist, held in detention, was reunited with his family. He had been picked up and detained with no warning. The next day, a mother was released from detention, at least temporarily. That same day a man was released after a year in detention and after multiple hunger strikes to call attention to the conditions, while facing months of solitary confinement. Organizers at the Northwest Detention Center Resistance in Washington say these victories highlight how community leadership and support can win fights against the detention and deportation machine.
