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Swift and Company ICE raids, 2006

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Family members reunited after the Worthington ICE raid

The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota’s John Keller (left) and UFCW Local 1161 President Mike Potter (right) with two family members (center) reunited after the ICE raid on the Swift & Company plant in Worthington. Photograph by the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, December 14, 2006.

On Tuesday, December 12, 2006, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided six meat-processing plants in six US states, including one in Worthington, Minnesota. At the Worthington plant alone, 239 workers were detained, leaving the city’s 11,283 residents in a state of turmoil. Children and families sought out community churches for asylum while local organizations worked tirelessly to establish faith-based and interpersonal networks to support the Worthington community.

In early 2006, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials conducted a ten-month investigation into identity theft in Swift & Company, an eight-billion-dollar meat-processing business that was also the second-largest in the world. After the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) met with Swift officials, the company established a more rigorous procedure to review workers’ documents. Through a voluntary internet-based program called Basic Pilot/E-Verify, maintained by DHS and the Social Security Administration (SSA), Swift fired over 400 undocumented workers.

According to the National Immigration Law Center, SSA database errors can misidentify about 3.6 million workers a year as not authorized for employment. The Basic Pilot/E-Verify can confirm whether a Social Security number is valid, but fail to detect when two people use the same number. Swift’s decision to use the program empowered corporate headquarters to deny any wrongdoing in their hiring practices, leaving the blame solely on the undocumented workers.

Employees of the Swift plant in Worthington went to work as usual on the morning of December 12. It was a holy day for the Latino community dedicated to celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 2006, however, the day turned out to be far from a celebration. Ten white buses with tinted windows parked in front of the plant while 100-plus federal officers cordoned off areas of the building. ICE agents then arrested 239 people. They even arrested US citizens on false illegal immigration charges. The buses transported the detainees to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and to Camp Dodge, a military installation in Johnston, Iowa. Out of those 239 detainees, only twenty were criminally charged with identity-related counts.

As the Worthington raid progressed, federal agents also arrested workers at Swift plants in Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, and Iowa. They arrested 1,297 undocumented immigrants in total, making it the largest federal immigration raid in US history. While all those arrested faced illegal immigration charges, several hundred were also charged with illegally assuming the identity of US citizens by using fraudulently acquired Social Security numbers.

Federal agents raided the Worthington plant, like the other Swift sites, using civil warrants instead of criminal arrest warrants. ICE searched the premises, questioned employees about their immigration status, and failed to inform detainees of their immediate right to an attorney. Those held in detention centers were allowed out on bond after their processing only if they had no criminal record.

Fear and intimidation spread rapidly through the city. In the days that followed, friends, family, and neighbors chanted “raza si, migra no” (“the people, yes, immigration authorities, no”) in protest of the raid. Worthington residents no longer felt safe. Families were afraid to go home. Children were separated from their parents, many of whom had only found out about the raids when no one came to pick them up from school.

Community churches immediately acted as sanctuaries while local organizations generated a range of faith-based networks and community connections to support their Worthington residents effectively . The Communidad Christiana (Christian Community) church on Oxford Street opened its doors to children seeking asylum. Lawyers from the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota assisted in bond hearings and offered legal help with visas, forms, and work authorizations.

It took Swift four-to-five months to resume full production. The company had to launch a major transportation initiative in all of their plants to attract immediate unskilled labor. For example, in Worthington, the company began busing in workers from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, attracting African refugees with employment authorization documents. Swift also sought out workers in homeless shelters in cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, resulting in many single mothers arriving with their children.

On September 4, 2007, Gloria Contreras-Edin, the executive director of Centro Legal, an immigrant rights law firm since 1981, filed a lawsuit against DHS on behalf of ten Latino plaintiffs. The suit alleged constitutional violations as well as abuse and humiliation on account of race. Federal judge Joan Ericksen dismissed the case in 2009. By July 12, 2017, Swift was bought by JBS, a Brazilian meat company, in an all-cash deal.

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Aamot, Gregg. “Worthington Workers Sue Over Tactics in Immigration Raid.” MPR News, September 4, 2007.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2007/09/04/swiftraidlawsuit

Associated Press. “Claims Dismissed in Worthington Immigration Raid.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 31, 2009.
https://www.twincities.com/2009/03/31/claims-dismissed-in-worthington-immigration-raid-2

Capps, Randy, and Michael Fix. “Changing the Playbook: Immigrants and the COVID-19 Response in Two US Communities.” Migration Policy Institute, July 2022.
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/mpi_covid19-immigrant-communities_final.pdf

Gurnon, Emily. “Hundreds Detained After Immigration Officials Raid Worthington Pork Plant.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, December 12, 2006. Updated: November 14, 2015.
https://www.twincities.com/2006/12/12/hundreds-detained-after-immigration-officials-raid-worthington-pork-plant

Kammer, Jerry. “The 2006 Swift Raids: Assessing the Impact of Immigration Enforcement Actions at Six Facilities.” Center for Immigration Studies, March 18, 2009.
https://cis.org/Report/2006-Swift-Raids

“Minn. Immigrant Rights Group Sues ICE over Swift Meatpacking Raid.” Transcript of Amy Goodman interviewing Gloria Contreras-Edin. Democracy Now!, September 28, 2007.
https://www.democracynow.org/2007/9/28/minn_immigrant_rights_group_sues_ice

National Immigration Law Center. E-Verify: Background Information.
https://www.nilc.org/issues/workersrights/everifyinfo

Nolasco Gomez, Filiberto. “On the Front Lines of Trump’s Immigration War in the US Heartland.” North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), July 9, 2019.
https://nacla.org/news/2019/07/09/front-lines-trump%27s-immigration-war-us-heartland

“Q&A: Trump Administration’s "Zero-Tolerance" Immigration Policy.” Human Rights Watch, August 16, 2018.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/16/qa-trump-administrations-zero-tolerance-immigration-policy

Randolph, Toni. “Judge Asked to Review Swift Raid Arrests.” MPR News, January 12, 2008.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2008/01/12/iceswift

Spears, Baylor. “Worthington’s Early COVID Response Informed By Past ICE Raids, According to Report.” Minnesota Reformer, July 28, 2022.
https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/worthingtons-early-covid-response-informed-by-past-ice-raids-according-to-report

Steil, Mark. “Fear and Uncertainty in Worthington Follow Immigration Raid.” MPR News, December 13, 2006.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2006/12/13/swiftraidupdate

——— . “Meat-Packing Plant Loses Workers to Immigration Raid.” National Public Radio, December 13, 2006.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6620724

——— . “Sale of Swift & Co. Raises Questions in Worthington.” MPR News, May 29, 2007.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2007/05/29/swiftsale

——— . “Worthington Still Smarting One Year After Swift Raid.” MPR News, December 12, 2007.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2007/12/11/swiftanniversary

Tevlin, Jon. “Centro Legal's Demise Leaves Gaping Hole in Safety Net.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 25, 2009.
https://www.startribune.com/jon-tevlin-centro-legal-s-demise-leaves-gaping-hole-in-safety-net/43657022

Turck, Mary. “Two Months After Worthington Raid, Families Are Still Struggling to Cope.” Workday, February 15, 2007.
https://workdaymagazine.org/two-months-after-worthington-raid-families-still-struggling-to-cope

Wettschrek, Justine. “ICE Sweeps Swift for Illegal Immigrants.” Worthington Daily Globe, December 12, 2006.
https://www.dglobe.com/news/ice-sweeps-swift-for-illegal-immigrants

——— . “WORTHINGTON—US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Plans to Fight the Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of 10 Worthington Swift & Co. Workers…” Worthington Daily Globe, September 6, 2007.
https://www.dglobe.com/news/1347846-ice-plans-fight-lawsuit-filed-10-swift-co-workers

Related Images

Family members reunited after the Worthington ICE raid
Family members reunited after the Worthington ICE raid
Amy Juarez and Baby Hamilton
Amy Juarez and Baby Hamilton
Aerial view of the Swift & Company plant in Worthington
Aerial view of the Swift & Company plant in Worthington
Volunteers with donations
Volunteers with donations
Volunteers unloading donations in Worthington
Volunteers unloading donations in Worthington
Donations drive for Worthington workers
Donations drive for Worthington workers
Child affected by the Worthington raid
Child affected by the Worthington raid
Community dialogue in Worthington
Community dialogue in Worthington
JBS USA pork-processing plant in Worthington
JBS USA pork-processing plant in Worthington

Turning Point

In response to the raids, local churches and community organizations in Worthington establish faith-based networks and interpersonal connections to help families effectively navigate the uncertainty to come.

Chronology

early 2006

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials begin a ten-month investigation of identity theft for the purposes of obtaining employment in all Swift & Company plants.

mid-2006

Swift voluntarily participates in the Basic Pilot/E-Verify program. It then fires over 400 undocumented workers.

late 2006

On December 12, federal agents raid six Swift plants in six different states and arrest a total of 1,297 workers. They arrest 239 Swift employees in Worthington, Minnesota.

late 2006

Churches in Worthington immediately act as sanctuaries for the community, especially for its large Latino population. Local organizations establish a variety of networks to circulate information effectively within the city.

April 10–14, 2007

More than fifty undocumented Latino immigrants are arrested in raids in Willmar, Minnesota. Many worked at a poultry processor owned by Austin-based Hormel Foods Corporation.

April 19, 2007

Centro Legal files a lawsuit on behalf of Latino residents in Willmar. It alleges that ICE agents and local police entered their homes without warrants, conducted unconstitutional stops based on race, and failed to tell them their rights during arrests.

May 2007

Swift launches a variety of recruitment strategies to attract more workers. These strategies include paid bonuses, paid relocation expenses, daily transportation, and advertisement.

July 12, 2007

Brazilian company JBS purchases Swift in a $1.5-billion (US), all-cash deal, making JBS Swift Group the largest beef processor in the world.

September 4, 2007

Gloria Contreras-Edin files a civil lawsuit against DHS on behalf of ten Latino plaintiffs alleging constitutional violations as well as abuse and humiliation on account of race. A judge later dismissed it.

2009

Centro Legal closes its doors due to financial difficulties on April 27. The non-profit organization had provided low-cost legal services to Minnesota's Latino community since 1981.

2018

Donald Trump becomes the forty-fifth president of the United States on January 20, re-instilling fears of ICE raids and immigration enforcement in the Worthington community.

early 2017

In response to President Trump’s political agenda, Catholic churches in Worthington offer sanctuary to immigrants fearing arrest and separation. Faith-based leaders and community advocates form the Worthington Area Immigrant Advocates (WAIA) network.

2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces a “zero-tolerance” policy toward illegal immigration, stoking more fears of raids in Worthington.

2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, WAIA extends its network to include other community-based organizations like Seeds of Justice and the Sharing Seeds food assistance coalition.

April 2020

JBS plays a central role in creating a community advisory council to support pandemic-response efforts. The Worthington plant becomes a prime location for mass testing.

June 2021

JBS announces that 87 percent of its workers at the Worthington plant are vaccinated.