Fear from Swift plant raid resonates in Greeley six years later

[madamesilverspurs]

"I still have fear," he says. "When I remember, it makes me very nervous. I was treated like an animal."

Vicente-Vicente is one of 273 workers arrested that Tuesday in Greeley in the largest immigration raid in U.S. history — and one of those continuing to deal with the fallout six years later.

Entire towns and thousands of residents — both citizens and undocumented immigrants — were affected when federal agents went to the headquarters of Swift & Co. on the north end of Greeley and five other company meatpacking plants in Texas, Utah, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. The raid swept up 1,297 undocumented workers....

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I watched this raid from the parking lot of the food bank located two blocks west of the plant. We stood there stunned, watching those huge white busses and the circling black helicopters; those choppers dipped down now and then and hovered directly over us, making sure that we knew that cameras were trained on us. It was a shocking, horrible thing to witness. Our location made us a focus of community response, people coming in wanting to arrange help for the families - clothing, toys for the kids, cash. We watched the worst of our community in action, then met the best of our community as they came to offer help.

It's been five years since I worked there, having left to deal with some health issues. But this Saturday, on the National Day of Service being coordinated by the Inaugural Committee, I'll be back at that food bank packing emergency food boxes.

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[Archaic]

1. I'd just been laid off from a place the other side of I25 after 11 years.

So I was in my own little world when all of this went down.

When I got myself rebalanced, I started reading about what I'd missed, and couldn't believe it happened so close to me. I remembered hearing about it here and there, but was making sure I had a place to live so was just distracted as heck.

That's great that you were there to help.