August 13, 2019
Work Place Raids in Mississippi
5 Ways You Can Help
The incidence of large-scale workplace raids has increased dramatically in the past two years, and raids often occur in isolated rural areas where the major employers hire mainly immigrant labor, such as for meatpacking plants or garden centers.
 
Last week, the largest workplace raid in at least a decade was conducted by 600 ICE agents who arrested over 680 workers near Jackson, Mississippi as they went to their jobs in multiple poultry companies. The arrests left hundreds of children and families separated in the six small towns of Bay Springs, Carthage, Canton, Morton, Pelahatchie and Sebastapol, Mississippi.
 
Workers were taken to a large military hangar. About 300 have since been released with orders to appear in immigration court. The rest are continuing to be processed after transport to three immigration detention locations in Louisiana, including Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie, La Salle Detention Facility in Jena, and Adams County Correctional Center in Netchez. Employers have not yet been charged.
 
Please hold our Disciples Regional Minister, Rev. Nadine Burton, and all the clergy, congregations, and communities of the Great River Region, which includes Mississippi, strongly in your prayers as they continue to respond in love and justice. 
5 Ways YOU Can Help Mississippi Families Traumatized by Raids NOW!
1) WRITE PRAYERS & PRAY FOR AFFECTED CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES!:
Join with children affected by the raids to continue to pray for them, for their families, and for our nation: https://www.wlox.com/2019/08/12/children-affected-by-raids-rally-change/ , and continue to offer prayers for the children affected by family separation:  https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/us/mississippi-immigration-raids-families/index.html . (Send your written prayers to: sstanley@dhm.disciples.org , so they can be shared with and prayed by other Disciples!)

Again, please pray also for our Great River Regional clergy, congregations, and communities, as they continue to respond locally!
 
2) STUDY SCRIPTURE ABOUT IMMIGRANTS & REFUGEES:  
 
3) SIGN UP TO HELP IN MISSISSIPPI!:
Complete this form from the Southeast Immigrant Rights Network if you wish to sign up to assist families impacted by the recent raids in Mississippi:  http://bit.ly/StandWithMS
 
Or, if you are a lawyer, complete this form from the Mississippi Center for Justice in order to  Sign Up for Legal Services , to offer your assistance to meet legal needs caused by the raids.
 
Local churches have stepped up to provide space for lawyers to offer legal assistance to affected families. These sites will also need volunteers to assist the lawyers and families.  The sites under development include: St. Anne Catholic Church in Carthage, MS, Immaculate Conception Church in Bay Springs/Laurel, MS area, Sacred H eart Catholic Church in Canton, MS, and the office of Attorney Constance Slaughter Harvey in Morton, MS. Additional sites are being sought in Sebastopol and Pelahatchie. 
 
Valeria Bejar, Disciples Immigration Response Specialist, is in touch with the assistance centers. Contact her at: vbejar@ddi.net  if you are interested to assist, and we will communicate your interest.
 
4) GIVE TO SUPPORT MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS HELPING IMPACTED FAMILIES:
This single link supports the ACLU of Mississippi, El Pueblo Mississippi, MacArthur Justice Center, Mississippi Center for Justice, Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, and the Southeast Immigrant Rights Network: LINK:  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms-raids
5) SHARE THESE RESOURCES TO HELP FAMILIES PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES:
Ensure that every immigrant family, and supportive friends, are prepared for the potential of a raid’s occurrence in home, on the road, at work, or elsewhere. 
 
--The Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Response Coalition, together with the National Immigration Law Center, compiled learnings and best practices from the traumatic raids which last year arrested 133 immigrant workers at a meatpacking plant in Morristown, TN. Their learnings are helpful to all communities enduring and in fear of similar raids, and can be found here in their NILC/ TIIRC Toolkit .
--The Women’s Refugee Commission has created Know Your Rights fact sheets that provide good guidance on immigrant rights and ways to prepare ahead for family care in the case of an emergency. Resources are in both  English and  Spanish .  
--This  webpage  from American Immigration Lawyers Association includes a number of resources for finding legal service providers for families, rapid response hotlines, and additional Know Your Rights information.
 
--This  toolkit  from Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) provides guidance on raid preparation and assists immigrant communities and supporters in building rapid response teams.
--Families that are in need of locating an individual who had been detained can utilize this  Online Detainee Locator  to locate individuals in ICE custody.
Follow Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries on Twitter @StanleyRea, and on FB at: http://bit.ly/RIMFacebook, and call Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries, with any questions: 202-957-7826.
See our website at: bit.ly/DisciplesRIM
If you haven't already done so, please sign up HERE to receive our important refugee & immigration "RIM WRAP" Alerts!