- Striking photographs following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Mississippi showed the children of detainees huddling together.
- In a pre-planned raid, roughly 600 US immigration officials raided a number of food processing plants throughout the state and arrested 680 mostly Latino employees.
- The children were left alone, according to local reports, and people volunteered to take them to a gym to spend the night.
- Food and drinks were reportedly donated to the children.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Striking photographs taken after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Mississippi showed the children of detainees huddling together.
In a pre-planned raid, roughly 600 US immigration officials raided a number of food processing plants throughout the state and arrested 680 mostly Latino employees, according to The Associated Press. The owners and employees were reportedly implicated in a federal criminal investigation.
"It was a sad situation inside," Domingo Candelaria, a worker at one of the plants, said to The Associated Press.
WJTV reporter Alex Love took photos of some of the children after their guardians were taken by immigration officials to a military hangar for processing.
"Many are left scared [and] crying after coming home from school [and] being locked out without their parents," Love reported.
People reportedly volunteered to take the children to a gym to spend the night, and food and drinks were donated to the children.
ICE did not respond to INSIDER's requests for comment on Wednesday evening.
ICE acting director Matthew Albence told The Associated Press earlier on Wednesday that the raids were a "long-term operation" and "racially neutral."
Children of those arrested in Wednesday's #ICE raids near Forest, MS. are being put up in a local gym tonight by neighbors/strangers. Many are left scared & crying after coming home from school & being locked out without their parents. Donated food & drinks are being provided. pic.twitter.com/d2juMdK1Vj
- Alex Love (@AlexLoveWJTV) August 8, 2019
HAPPENING NOW: In Forrest, Mississippi where one of the #ICE raids happened nearby Children of those who were arrested are left alone in the streets crying for help. Strangers and neighbors are taking them to a local gym to be put up for the night. FULL STORY TONIGHT ON @WJTV. pic.twitter.com/s2zuTTRYfM
- Alex Love (@AlexLoveWJTV) August 8, 2019
More images as volunteers try to feed the kids donated food and drinks for dinner tonight. But most children are still devastated and crying for their parents and can't eat. FULL STORY TONIGHT ON @WJTV. #FocusedOnYou pic.twitter.com/C6uV6A7Lng
- Alex Love (@AlexLoveWJTV) August 8, 2019