During the Labor Day weekend, members of the government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids and detained some 90 to 100 undocumented workers.

After months of investigation, immigration agents staged a raid on the Crider Inc. chicken factory in Stillmore (which is some 185 miles southeast of Atlanta). There were also raids conducted in the towns of Metter and Oak Park, Georgia, the ICE public affairs office stated.

Reverend Ariel Rodriguez of the Missionary Baptist Church, who lives in a town near Stillmore, spoke about how the agents detained workers in the chicken factory last Friday at 6 p.m.

“Immigration agents entered and went right to the Hispanic workers and started handcuffing them. Witnesses stated that the agents were treating them badly,” he said.

As this paper went to press, spokesmen for Crider Inc., which has offices in Metter and Stillmore, had not returned calls seeking comment about the raids.

Amelia Hernández, who worked at the Crider factory in Stillmore, received a letter stating that she had to leave the company. The raids focused on detaining those who had presented false documents, said ICE press secretary Dean Boyd, but allowances were made for women who had children.

Agents did not detain Hernández but told her she would receive a subpoena to appear in court in Atlanta. According to Rodríguez, “that Saturday agents went to their trailers. Some trailers were empty, but in some they found people and they were taken away. They tell me that they took the men but left the women and children.”

Hernández had heard that immigration agents would stage a raid on Friday night, so she left her house in Stillmore immediately.

“On Friday at around 6 p.m. they arrived and entered the factory, people told me. By night, they began raiding the trailers, but because we were afraid, we had left earlier. They also raided my house,” she said.

Hernández’ husband was arrested at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 2. He was taken to a federal immigration jail in Alabama, but she is not certain which one.

Gladis Espitia, who is a U.S. citizen, was present when immigration agents arrested her boyfriend during the operation. Espitia said six cars circled the house and that officers used heavy force to enter the house. They shouted and threatened everyone with guns. Espitia had to show her immigration papers to avoid being arrested. The 18 year-old youth began crying and one agent shouted at that if the crying didn’t stop, the situation would get worse.

“They didn’t announce themselves. They didn’t show arrest papers or anything. They only shouted that we should open the door or they would bust it open and that if they had to do that, they would also throw in teargas,” Espitia said.

Immigration raids continued from Friday until Sunday.