Embracing An End to Worksite Raids, We Call for Healing and Centering Children’s Wellbeing - Children Thrive Action Network
I never expected anything like this to happen. When I saw them coming I ran. And I ran and ran and ran until I hid under a bed of flowers, and I buried myself under the dirt and cried in silence. All I could think about was my kids, I have three. A lot of us have some children who need us. My skin itched of the mud stuck to my body, drying.
CLASP visited three sites where massive worksite raids occurred, in Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas, and documented the widespread harm to children, families, and communities in a 2020 report, “The Day That ICE Came.” The study documents stories of children who were still having nightmares about the images they witnessed, as well as families still trying to pick up the pieces, months after the raids took place. Many parents arrested in the raids were in detention for months or deported, forced to leave young children behind. As one mother quoted in the report said, “I don’t have happy days anymore.”
The vision is to redesign the immigration system to truly prioritize children’s wellbeing and family unity; considering the best interests of children in all stages of immigration enforcement. Ultimately, Congress will need to pass a path to citizenship for permanent protections.