In the “Findings” section of the bill, which was sponsored by Senators Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and written with the help of the ACLU, the text reads in part:

Since 2006, the Department of Homeland Security and partnering law enforcement agents have amplified enforcement actions at the workplace, on the street, and inside the homes of individuals… A large majority of the children affected by such enforcement actions are United States citizens and the youngest and most vulnerable in our society, including infants, toddlers, and preschoolers… In several recent immigration raids and immigration enforcement activities, officials at United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement have unlawfully detained United States citizens and lawful permanent residents.

Among other things, the bill would require Homeland Security officials to “notify State and local child welfare authorities of such immigration-related enforcement activity not later than 24 hours before the commencement of such activity” and to provide for social services for the children and families of detained immigrants.

Look up the Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act on Thomas to read the whole thing.

The bill, which will not be voted on this fall but will likely be carried over into the next Congress, is designed primarily to express Senate Democrats’ disapproval of large-scale I.C.E. raids. This disapproval has been echoed in many corners, including by the Chicago City Council and by businesses and locals in the areas affected by the raids.

• “Fear. Stress. Isolation,” says the Hattiesburg American, listing themes in the lives of detainees’ families after the raid in Laurel, Miss. They shared their stories with the newspaper at a meeting of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, which is trying to get detainees’ paychecks released to their families. So far, Howard Industries has refused to do so.
• In Honolulu, another 21 illegal immigrants were arrested at a construction site for a luxury resort. A month ago, 23 were arrested at the same site.
• Last week, ICE arrested 21 illegal immigrants in Vacaville, Calif., who had been working in buffet restaurants. The agents found the immigrants living in deplorable conditions: “It appeared all of the homes were being used to house significant numbers of people. Inside they discovered makeshift walls and mattresses in many of the rooms, including the garages.” The immigrants were from China , Mexico, Guatemala, Indonesia, Singapore and Honduras.
• Twenty-one people were arrested at a discount mall on Chicago’s west side and charged with document fraud, in a ring that provided illegal immigrants with papers.
• Two human resource managers from the Postville meatpacking plant raided in May plead not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting document fraud and identity theft and harboring illegal aliens. Meanwhile, Agriprocessors is struggling to recover, as recently-hired Somali refugees have quit citing poor working conditions.

In the wake of recent immigration raids in Iowa and Mississippi, small towns across the country are worried they could be next. The Kansas City Star reports on one such community.

Milan, Mo. is home to a Farmland Foods pork packing plant that—like meatpacking businesses across the country—employs hundreds of Latino immigrants. Though Farmland says it screens new hires carefully, undoubtedly there are some illegal workers employed there. Should the plant be raided, Milan and Sullivan County—which is 50 percent Latino—would be in a bind.

After a difficult transition, schools are now geared to embrace Spanish-speaking kids, and rely on their numbers for state financing. Housing vacancies have given way to men crowding eight to a one-bedroom apartment while demand from Hispanic families has prevented home prices from falling. Taxes from the plant and its workers keep local government afloat.

Fear about the consequences of future raids has led pro-immigration organizations like the Mississippi Immigrants’ Rights Alliance to begin building an early-warning system. Hotel workers in towns with large immigrant populations are prepared to call in tips about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents renting rooms, and others are keeping watch for out-of-state license plates or activity at local courthouses. Activists say these measures will take away ICE’s element of surprise, allowing communities to prepare—and likely allowing illegal immigrants to hide.

The May raid in Postville, Iowa. (AP Photo)

In Laurel, Miss., where 595 suspected illegal immigrants were arrested in an ICE raid on a Howard Industries plant earlier this month, the fall-out has yet to settle. The ACLU is investigating charges that workers were segregated by ethnicity and arrested immigrants denied counsel. Locally, the families of arrested immigrants are living in uncertainty, while U.S. born workers expressed gratitude to ICE for freeing up nearly 600 jobs.

When arrested immigrants and their families heard that pay was being withheld, immigrant advocates protested. Vicky Cintra, of Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, an organization representing the alleged illegal immigrants, told the Leader Call that she would call on the IRS and the Department of Labor to intervene on the workers’ behalf.

Meanwhile, Howard Industries, which makes electrical parts, issued a statement denying complicity in the illegal hirings:

Howard Industries has always conducted its hiring practices in strict compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations. It is the policy of Howard Industries to hire only U.S. citizens or those who have legal authorization to work in the U.S. We have not knowingly hired anyone who was not legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Like most of the companies involved in recent immigration raids, Howard officials have not been charged with any crimes.

A sign in Laurel. (AP Photo)