TN Delegation Meets with Congress Members on ICE Raids
By: Stephanie Carson, Public News Service – TN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The April Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that took place outside Morristown continue to have an impact on individuals involved and their communities. It’s a reality that leaders and immigrant advocates want to make sure members of Congress understand, and on Thursday several of them traveled to Washington to meet with Rep. Steve Cohen, D – Memphis, and others.
Jasmine Nazarett with the Fair Immigration Reform Movement says as the Trump administration steps up ICE raids, it’s important for leaders to remember there are human beings involved.
“We’re all human. We all do what’s best for our families, and if that means that we move to a new city or a new state to provide our families with the opportunities they deserve, that’s what any parent would do for their kid,” says Nazarett. “And these folks, that’s what they’ve done.”
Thursday’s briefing was moderated by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. Last year DHS announced it would quadruple worksite enforcement.
The April 5 raid was the largest in a decade, arresting 97 people at a meat processing plant. Nazarett says many of those taken into custody remained in blood-stained garments for an extended period of time.
Two days ago at a worksite raid in Ohio, ICE arrested 114 people. Nazarett says the raids involve a large-scale operation that’s alarming and disruptive to everyone around.
“It really was a scene out of a movie,” says Nazarett. “Folks that were outside just started seeing cars pulling up, police cars, there were ICE cars, IRS, DHS, state troopers. They just surrounded the building and, weapons out, started telling folks, ‘Put your hands up! Don’t move!’ ”
The Trump administration insists the raids are necessary to enforce immigration law and maintain the safety of communities. Nazarett and others point out that many of those detained have been in the United States for decades, many of them with no clear path to citizenship.
