By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
ICE arrested about 680 people during raids of seven food processing plants across Mississippi on Wednesday in what officials described as the largest single-state sweep in U.S. history.
The raids were the result of an ongoing, year-long investigation targeting immigrants working without authorization, ICE said in a news release.
During the raids, more than 600 ICE agents were involved, fanning out to prevent workers from escaping.
“While we are a nation of immigrants, more than that, first and foremost, we are a nation of laws,” U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst of the Southern District of Mississippi told NBC News. “They have to come here legally or they shouldn’t come here at all.”
Most of those arrested were Latinos.
