United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

The initial number given was 350, but an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson said on Tuesday that 595 people were arrested Monday at a factory in Laurel, Mississippi, Reuters reported.[1] -- It was the the largest such raid in the history of the United States, AP said, with 475 detainees taken to an ICE detention facility in Jena, LA, 200 miles away, and 106 people released due to "humanitarian concerns."[2] -- ICE said that those arrested came from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. -- Holbrook Mohr noted that the factory, Howard Industries, is "in Mississippi's Pine Belt region, known for commercial timber growth and chicken processing plants. The tech company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies." -- A statement from a U.S. attorney, reproduced verbatim by the Jackson (MS) Free Press, indicated that the same device used in Postville, Iowa, of criminal charges of "aggravated identity theft," will be used in Laurel, though so far only eight such cases have been announced.[3] -- The New York Times, the only major daily covering the story, said that "The relatively low number of criminal cases could represent a shift in government policy, several immigration experts said."[4] -- "But an ICE spokeswoman said some of the 475 could still face criminal charges, and she rejected the suggestion that the government’s policy had changed. 'Absolutely not,' said the spokeswoman, Barbara Gonzalez, in an e-mail message," Adam Rossiter wrote. -- "The government said it had acted on a tip from a union member, but union officials in Mississippi said they did not know the identity of the tipster. But Robert Shaffer of the Mississippi A.F.L.-C.I.O. said it was 'common knowledge' that Howard and other area employers 'kind of cater to the undocumented workers.'" -- Nativist web sites like Stop the ACLU celebrated the arrests. -- But such jubilation was contested on the web site of the Hattiesburg (MS) American, where one reader wrote: "I disagree 100%. I'm sorry to say it but Americans are lazy and always want something for nothing. Americans don't want to work! They want the "American Dream" handed to them on a silver platter. These people risk their lives to come to the U.S. to work for a fairly decent wage. You have obviously never been to Mexico and have never seen how poor that country really is! These people work their butts off. My husband and I have a business and we have begged, borrowed, pleaded, and almost bribed people to work for us. But it's hard work and our teenagers and young adults don't want to work for their money. Americans have poor work habits such as being late for work, not taking pride in their work, and aren't dependable. These people are there every day without fail! They show up sick, work ALL DAY, never complain, and can outwork anyone around here. This is because they have family who depend on them and they also want the 'American Dream!' The only difference is they will WORK for it when we won't. Yes it is pitiful for us to send these people back when they risked so much and worked so hard to get here. Whoever the big mouth was that tipped off immigration should be ashamed of themselves and I hope they can't sleep at night for a long time. This affected men, women, and CHILDREN! People should think before they seek revenge. You say there are plenty of people around here who need jobs but my question to you is, 'Do they WANT a job and are they willing to work for it?' Needing/wanting/willing to work are 3 totally different things! Now, new companies won't locate here!" ...

PHOENIX -- U.S. immigration agents have arrested 595 people at a Mississippi factory in what was the largest workplace enforcement raid in the United States to date, an immigration official said on Tuesday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said federal agents arrested the workers in a raid at the Howard Industries Inc. factory in Laurel, Miss, on Monday,

"This is the largest targeted workplace enforcement operation we have carried out in the United States to date," Gonzalez told Reuters by telephone.

The swoop at the plant, which makes electrical equipment including transformers, was part of an ongoing crackdown on identity theft and fraudulent use of Social Security numbers by illegal immigrants.

Those arrested included citizens of Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Brazil and one from Germany, ICE said in a press release.

The detainees were interviewed, fingerprinted, and photographed by ICE agents, and processed for deportation from the United States.

Gonzalez said 475 detainees were transferred to an ICE detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, while nine unaccompanied minors -- eight males and one female -- were placed in the custody of the office of refugee resettlement.

A further 106 people were released based on "humanitarian concerns," Gonzalez said.

The raid comes amid a toughening stance toward illegal immigrants in the United States, where some 12 million live and work in the shadows.

Since October 1 last year, more than 4,000 people have been nabbed in stepped-up enforcement raids across the country.

In the largest previous sweep by ICE at Agriprocessors Inc, a kosher meat plant in Postville, Iowa in May, 390 people were arrested. Many were subsequently held for months on charges relating to document fraud and identity theft.

Immigration activists said the raid in Laurel had left an unknown number of children without one or both of their parents and many Hispanic residents afraid to leave their homes.

"We have seen several situations where both breadwinners, the mother and the father, have been detained," Bill Chandler, the executive director of the Mississippi Immigrants' Rights Alliance said in a telephone interview.

"If you have young children going to school, and they come home and find their parents gone, that is a major crisis," he added.

Chandler said the organization had a team helping affected families in the city of 65,000 residents, as well as lawyers working with detainees held in the sweep.

"People are very, very fearful," Chandler said. "People in the Latino community are afraid to go out of their homes. In many cases they are afraid to go to work."

LAUREL, Miss. -- The largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history has caused panic among Hispanic families in this small southern Mississippi town, where federal agents rounded up nearly 600 plant workers suspected of being in the country illegally.

One worker caught in Monday's sweep at the Howard Industries transformer plant said fellow workers applauded as immigrants were taken into custody. Federal officials said a tip from a union member prompted them to start investigating several years ago.

Fabiola Pena, 21, cradled her 2-year-old daughter as she described a chaotic scene at the plant as the raid began, followed by clapping.

"I was crying the whole time. I didn't know what to do," Pena said. "We didn't know what was happening because everyone started running. Some people thought it was a bomb but then we figured out it was immigration."

About 100 of the 595 detained workers were released for humanitarian reasons, many of them mothers who were fitted with electronic monitoring bracelets and allowed to go home to their children, officials said.

About 475 other workers were transferred to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, La. Nine who were under 18 were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

John Foxworth, an attorney representing some of the immigrants, said eight appeared in federal court in Hattiesburg on Tuesday because they face criminal charges for allegedly using false Social Security and residency identification.

"There was no communication, an immediate loss of any kind of news, and a lack of understanding of what's happening to their loved ones," he said. "A complete and utter feeling of helplessness."

The superintendent of the county school district said about half of approximately 160 Hispanic students were absent Tuesday.

Roberto Velez, pastor at Iglesia Cristiana Peniel, where an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the 200 parishioners were caught up in the raid, said parents were afraid immigration officials would take them.

Those detained were from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Peru, said Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman.

Elizabeth Alegria, 26, a Mexican immigrant, was working at the plant Monday when ICE agents stormed in. When they found out she has two sons, ages 4 and 9, she was fitted with a bracelet and told to appear in federal court next month. Her husband, Andres, was not so lucky.

"I'm very traumatized because I don't know if they are going to let my husband go and when I will see him," Elizabeth Alegria said through a translator Tuesday as she returned to the Howard Industries parking lot to retrieve her sport utility vehicle.

"We have kids without dads and pregnant mothers who got their husbands taken away," said Velez's son, Robert, youth pastor at the church. "It was like a horror story. They got handled like they were criminals."

Howard Industries is in Mississippi's Pine Belt region, known for commercial timber growth and chicken processing plants. The tech company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies, according to its Web site.

Gonzalez said agents had executed search warrants at both the plant and the company headquarters in nearby Ellisville. She said no company executives had been detained, but this is an "ongoing investigation and yesterday's action was just the first part."

A woman at the Ellisville headquarters told the Associated Press on Tuesday that no one was available to answer questions.

In a statement to the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper, Howard Industries said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs."

"It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants," the statement said.

Gov. Haley Barbour recently signed a law requiring Mississippi employers to use a U.S. Homeland Security system to check new workers' immigration status.

The law took effect July 1 for businesses with state contracts and takes effect Jan. 1 for other businesses. Mississippi lawmakers once used laptops made by Howard Industries, but it's not clear whether the company has current state contracts.

Under the law, a company found guilty of employing illegal immigrants could lose public contracts for three years and the right to do business in Mississippi for one year.

The law also makes it a felony for an illegal immigrant to accept a job in Mississippi. A message was left with the district attorney's office after hours seeking comment on whether he would use the law to bring state charges against Howard Industries or the workers.

On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized from the plant's human resources department, according to court records. In December 2006, 1,297 were arrested at Swift meatpacking plants in Nebraska and five other states.

--Associated Press Writers Shelia Byrd in Hattiesburg, Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson and Eileen Sullivan in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

LAUREL, Miss. -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents executed a federal criminal search warrant yesterday at Howard Industries, Inc., an electric transformer manufacturing facility, for evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, as well as a civil search warrant for individuals illegally in the United States. The announcement was made by ICE Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Investigations in New Orleans, Michael A. Holt, and Stan Harris, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

As a result of yesterday’s enforcement action, approximately 595 illegal aliens were arrested by ICE special agents. Of those, approximately 106 were identified as being eligible for an alternative to detention based on humanitarian reasons. These individuals will still be required to appear before a federal immigration judge who will ultimately determine whether or not they will be deported.

Eight criminal cases have been accepted for prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. The criminal cases are focused on charges of aggravated identity theft. The other cases are being handled via administrative law procedures at the Department of Homeland Security.

“Yesterday’s enforcement action is part of ICE’s ongoing nationwide effort to shut down the employment magnet fueling illegal immigration,” said Holt. “We are committed to strengthening the integrity of our nation’s immigration system.”

Harris noted that the eight cases being criminally prosecuted are for separate identity theft charges. “Identity theft is a growing problem in the United States, and the Department of Justice has prioritized bringing perpetrators of these crimes to justice and protecting the interests of innocent victims.”

All of those arrested were interviewed, fingerprinted and photographed by ICE agents and processed for removal from the United States. Approximately 475 were transported to an ICE facility in Jena, Louisiana, where they will await the outcome of their case. The eight individuals facing criminal charges are in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

Everyone encountered was medically screened and interviewed by a Public Health Service officer to determine if they had any medical, caregiver, or other humanitarian concerns. As a result of this screening, ICE identified individuals eligible for humanitarian release and nine unaccompanied juveniles who are all 17-years-old. The juveniles, which included one female and eight males, were transferred into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

Those arrested yesterday represent numerous countries including: Germany, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras and Brazil.

ICE contacted local Consular officials, community groups, and others to ensure they have accurate information regarding the operation.

ICE has established a local telephone number for family members to find out more information about the detention status of those arrested. Family members may call: 1-866-341-3858.

Federal officials on Tuesday revised upward to 595 the number of suspected illegal immigrants arrested this week in a raid on a Laurel, Miss., factory, making it the largest immigration crackdown on a United States workplace in recent years.

On Monday, the day of the raid, officials said at least 350 people had been arrested.

Officials said 475 of the immigrants were immediately taken by bus to a detention center in the central Louisiana town of Jena and would face deportation. At least eight appeared in federal court in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Tuesday, where they faced criminal charges of aggravated identity theft, which usually means stealing a Social Security number or using a false address.

Of the 595 arrested, 106 were temporarily released for what Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials called “humanitarian” reasons -- because of illness or the need to care for children -- though they still face deportation. Nine unaccompanied 17-year-olds were taken into custody by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.

The relatively low number of criminal cases could represent a shift in government policy, several immigration experts said, particularly in view of the hundreds who were prosecuted and sent to jail after a similar raid at a meatpacking plant at Postville, Iowa, in May.

“I’m going to hope that it is,” said Kathleen C. Walker, a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. After Postville, “they got a lot of heat from different avenues,” Ms. Walker said, referring to the outcry from advocates over the mass, rapid-fire nature of the criminal proceedings, which took place on the grounds of the National Cattle Congress in Iowa.

But an ICE spokeswoman said some of the 475 could still face criminal charges, and she rejected the suggestion that the government’s policy had changed.

“Absolutely not,” said the spokeswoman, Barbara Gonzalez, in an e-mail message. “In fact it’s the opposite.” She added that more people were being charged with crimes by ICE every year.

A Mississippi immigrants rights group continued Tuesday to criticize the large-scale raid, in which numerous federal immigration agents descended on Howard Industries, a major employer in southern Mississippi and a manufacturer of electrical transformers, among other things. Officials with Howard did not return phone calls Tuesday.

“It’s just horrific,” said Victoria Cintra, an organizer for the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. “We’ve got two families where the mom and the dad were released with ankle bracelets” -- electronic tracking devices -- “and they have children. They’ve got bills to pay and kids to feed. We’ve got a woman who is 24, 26 weeks pregnant, and she’s got a husband, brother, father, and brother-in-law who were detained.”

One of the workers who appeared in court on Tuesday, Paula Gomez, a native of Mexico who worked at Howard, was accused of using a stolen Social Security number, according to court records.

“Most of the families are not leaving their homes because they are afraid,” said the Rev. Ken Ramon-Landry of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hattiesburg, speaking of family members of those who had been taken away.

The government said it had acted on a tip from a union member, but union officials in Mississippi said they did not know the identity of the tipster. But Robert Shaffer of the Mississippi A.F.L.-C.I.O. said it was “common knowledge” that Howard and other area employers “kind of cater to the undocumented workers.”