Dec 12, 2006 8:13 pm US/Mountain
Loved Ones Express Concern About Workers In Raid
by Mike Hooker
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) ―
-
-
Many family members gathered outside the meatpacking plant to wait for word on the workers.
CBS
As word of an immigration raid spread quickly through the
Greeley community, many family members of
Swift & Co. employees rushed to the plant.
Hundreds of the workers' loved ones gathered outside the plants to express their concern.
"They're in the cafeteria checking all the papers and now he's gone," said Rocenda Renas.
She said her husband was working at the plant illegally and called her from inside.
Some of the gatherers turned to anger and confrontation to deal with the raid. Others turned to prayer while they waited for information as some workers were loaded into immigration enforcement buses.
"The least they should do is let the families know where they're at and where they're going and what's going to happen with them," said Monica Mills, a worker's wife.
"This is sad, especially around Christmas time," said a concerned woman as she waited outside the plant. "They had to come take these kids' dads and mothers."
"Well they're going to get out of school and they're going to wonder where they're parents are," said the wife of a worker.
The smallest children are too young to understand and share the worry of their parents.
"What are we supposed to do to live, seriously," said a woman through tears. "What is my baby supposed to do without a dad?"
Federal agents said Swift was aware of the government investigation but refused to make its suspected illegal employees available to ICE agents for questioning.
"Everybody knew they had people with no papers but on the other side, that's the only people that want to do the job, the Mexican people," said Adam Dios, a worker's friend.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents believe at least 400 IDs were stolen from U.S. citizens.
(© MMVI CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Slideshow: See Images From Immigration Raid In Greeley
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
