Biden administration to do away with workplace immigration raids

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - President Joe Biden’s Administration is putting an end to workplace immigration raids.

During the Trump administration, ICE carried out several massive workplace raids as part of a crackdown on undocumented immigration, including raids at seven plants in Mississippi in 2019.

It was the largest single-state immigration enforcement operation in history. 680 undocumented immigrants were detained.

Now, the Homeland Security Secretary has directed immigration agencies to cease mass raids on workplaces where undocumented immigrants are employed.

“It’s a positive development I’m not surprised to see it. I’m not surprised because this had to happen eventually.”

Attorney L. Patricia Ice is the legal project director for the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. She welcomes this new policy and hopes more changes are coming to help immigrants.

“We can’t continue to exploit and hurt undocumented workers,” she said.

Ice says she can still remember how the record-setting immigration sweep two years ago destroyed people’s livelihoods and families.

“Some of the people who were arrested still have monitors they are wearing; they still have upcoming hearings. As you know, that was the first day of school 2019, so there were children who went off to school and then didn’t see their parents again or didn’t see their parents for a long time.”

In a memorandum Tuesday, The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary said the real problem is the exploitative employers, not unauthorized workers. Not everyone agrees with this new policy.

“Justice is supposed to be blind. In other words, the law should be equal to everyone including illegal immigrants and they are violating the law. If they are violating the law, they ought to pay the prices,” said Sen. Chris McDaniel.

Mcdaniel says this policy also opens the door for undocumented immigrants to steal jobs from hard working Americans looking for employment. He just can’t support that.

“I will understand how our state as economically disadvantaged as we have historically been, could support a mass influx of out-of-country workers to basically undermine Mississippians. It makes no sense whatsoever.”

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