skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Arkansas Factory Raid Disrupts Communities, Immigrant Advocates Say

play audio
Play

Monday, September 17, 2018   

ALMA, Ark. – Several families in Arkansas this week are living without loved who face charges of immigration violations after a raid in a factory in Alma.

At least 28 people were taken into custody, but the women were later released.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement served the warrant on the Bryant Preserving Company based on an undisclosed criminal investigation.

Humberto Marquez, organizing director of Arkansas United, an immigrant advocacy group, says it's left several families with a large gap.

"The men are still currently detained and they were taken to the Washington County Jail,” Marquez explains. “A lot of those men are fathers, are husbands."

Currently, the detainees are only suspected of having an illegal immigration status. Earlier this year, ICE faced criticism for separating children from their parents, which Marquez says may be part of the reason why women were released.

Bryant Preserving has insisted in public statements that it is not part of an investigation.

The company says it uses E-Verify in its hiring process, which is intended to ensure that employees have a legal status.

Marquez says the raid has left a community shaken and uncertain, regardless of the company's level of involvement.

"There's plenty of people who are citizens who perhaps wouldn't be directly affected by this, but somehow it still implements fear because there's friends, neighbors, who might not have a stable status," he states.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas declined to comment on the raid. Similar raids have taken place in Tennessee and Ohio over the last year.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021