Federal raid puts families in limbo

If only for a few minutes, Maria felt like an "illegal alien'' in her homeland–the United States. She thought she was going on break from her job at the Swift & Co. meat processing plant in Hyrum, UT, on Dec. 12, but instead she and others were forced to stand in a line by US immigration agents. Non-Latinos and people with lighter skin were plucked out of line and given blue bracelets. The rest, mostly Latinos with brown skin, waited until they were "cleared'' or arrested by "la migra,'' the popular name in Spanish for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), employees said. Some of the workers weren't even allowed to get their belongings from their lockers. "I was in the line because of the color of my skin,'' Maria said, her voice shaking. "They're discriminating against me. I'm from the United States and I didn't even get a blue bracelet." Agents took the detained employees, many of them undocumented workers, away in white and black buses. Most were being held at a federal facility in Ogden, UT. Federal officials declined to disclose the location of the facility or the number of actual detainees. Maria was one of hundreds of plant employees targeted by federal agents. But she and her husband were the lucky ones–later on Dec. 12, they returned home to their three sons. At five schools in Cache County, counselors comforted students who feared their parents had been taken into custody. Some school leaders explained to Latino students what was happening and made sure there was someone at home. The federal agents raided the plant early in the morning of Dec. 12 after arrest warrants had been issued for 60 workers, part of "Operation Wagon Train," a nationwide investigation involving undocumented immigrants using stolen Social Security numbers of US citizens to gain employment. ICE also raided Swift facilities in Greeley, CO; Grand Island, NE; Cactus, TX; Marshalltown, IA; and Worthington, MN. Swift President and CEO Sam Rovit said operations at the six raided facilities have been suspended. He denied the company knowingly hired undocumented workers. Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, said the raid underscores the need for a national solution for immigration. Many Latinos have been drawn to Utah and other states for jobs.