The Day That ICE Came: How Worksite Raids Are Once Again Harming Children and Families
In 2019, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) visited three locations that experienced worksite raids during the Trump Administration—Allen, Texas; Sandusky and Salem, Ohio; and Canton, Carthage, Forest, and Morton, Mississippi. Notably, each of these represented the largest worksite raid in more than a decade at the time they occurred. Researchers met with immigrants and their families, lawyers, educators, community responders, and faith leaders to learn how these raids had altered lives, livelihoods, and communities.
What the researchers found was, in a word, devastating. The impact of raids on families, communities, and children—many of whom are U.S. citizens—was the complete devastation of family economic security and mental and physical wellbeing. Specifically, they identified several disturbing consequences for children and families already affected by the stresses of poverty, increased anti-immigrant discrimination, and constantly changing immigration policies.
