Congressman Cohen Questions Witnesses at Field Hearing on Recent Immigration Raids

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today questioned witnesses about recent immigration raids in Mississippi and Tennessee at a field hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security in Jackson, Mississippi.

Congressman Cohen thanked the Committee's Chairman, Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, for inviting him to the field hearing. Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, both of Texas, also participated at the hearing held at the historically black Tougaloo College. Jackson Lee and Green are both members of the committee and Congressman Cohen was invited.

In his questions, Congressman Cohen noted the similarities between the August 7 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on seven poultry processing plants in Mississippi with the April 2018 raid at a slaughterhouse in Bean Station where nearly 100 people were arrested. This resulted in the inhumane treatment of employees' school-age children in both raids.

See both rounds of Congressman Cohen's questions here.

After the hearing, Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"Mississippi has changed in many ways but the immigration raids are a throwback to a dark time in the state's history where people in power targeted the ‘other.' By arresting workers, not employers, the Trump Administration isn't doing anything to disrupt the flow of undocumented workers. Instead he is disrupting established communities and harming local economies. These raids in Mississippi and Tennessee are just political stunts. We need to see the Trump Administration work within the existing legal guidance to minimize the impact these raids have on American communities."

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