ICE conducts largest single-state raid, 680 arrested in Mississippi

ICE executed federal search warrants at seven agricultural processing plants across Mississippi, arresting approximately 680 undocumented workers in the largest single-state workplace enforcement action in U.S. history. August 7 was the first day of school in Mississippi, and children sobbed as they waited for word on what happened to their parents. The raids were widely condemned for their cruelty and timing. Many workers were eventually released, but the terror and family separation inflicted on the communities persisted. The action exemplified Trump's aggressive approach to immigration enforcement targeting vulnerable workers rather than employers.

"This serves as a very good deterrent" — Trump to reporters defending the raids, August 9, 2019