Mississippi communities scarred by ICE raids fear a future under Trump

When Brandy Freeman is asked about what happened here five years ago, she stops in her tracks.

"It was horrible," Freeman says, her voice trembling as she tears up. Her eyes lose focus on the items inside the small thrift shop where she's browsing for used furniture. "It was really horrible," she whispers.

It's Saturday morning, and people are at home watching the 'Ole Miss' football game. Other than the hum of the Koch Foods poultry processing plant on the other side of the railroad tracks, it's quiet in this small city 30 miles east of Jackson.

That wasn't the case on Aug. 7, 2019, when seven poultry plants in central Mississippi, some of the biggest employers in the region, were raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Authorities arrested 680 workers, more than half from plants right here in Morton.

Freeman's partner wasn't detained that day. But he is in the country illegally working at a chicken plant, so they've talked about the possibility of it happening again– and about what it would mean for their 3-year-old son.

"It's a constant worry," she says.

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/09/g-s1-35931/mississippi-ice-immigration-workplace-raid-deportation-poultry

This happened in 2016 at a plant near my hometown in TN. I won't soon forget. The two churches with the largest Hispanic memberships sprang into action and the town was up in arms. NOT amused!