THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST undocumented laborers in the U.S. escalated in August as federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided seven Mississippi poultry processing facilities, sweeping up 680 people on suspicion of unlawful status-the most severe crackdown in over a decade. Scenes of children crying after school, begging for the return of their parents while immigration officials insisted they were just doing their job, presented a jarring portrait to many Americans. The outcry was immediate, and though more than 300 people were temporarily released from detention, the operation served as a reminder of how important these workers are in their communities and how integral the undocumented workforce-which often operates in the shadows-is to the U.S. labor market at large.
展开▼
