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In the first lawsuit of its kind during the Trump administration, courageous Latina and Latino workers are standing up to the federal government’s unconstitutional tactics during a raid of their workplace.  

In April 2018, heavily armed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, bursted into a meat processing plant in Bean Station, Tennessee.  According to the workers’ lawsuit filed in federal court on February 21, the agents used excessive force and violence, vulgar language, and racial slurs while arresting nearly 100 workers. The workers, many who had been working at the plant for several years, thought that they were witnessing a terrorist attack or mass shooting.  

All of the workers detained were (or appeared to be) Latina or Latino.  None of the Plant’s white workers were arrested.

Workers and their families report that the raid has irreversibly changed their lives and their community.  “I have lived in Tennessee for 12 years. This is my home. My family is here. My friends are here. I have land here. This is where my dreams have taken root,” said Isabel Zelaya, one of the workers, in a press release.  The day following the raid, nearly 600 kids stayed home from school. Nearly a year later, workers, their families, and the local community continue to struggle with trauma and economic insecurity.

Together, however, the workers are joining in solidarity to seek justice.  “I am part of this lawsuit because I want justice for myself and my coworkers who were denied our constitutional rights, as well as our humanity,” said Zelaya.

The class-action lawsuit alleges that the ICE agents involved in the raid violated the workers’ constitutional rights to the equal protection under the law and to be protected from arbitrary arrests and excessive force.  The workers also claim that the agents conspired to violate their civil rights. The workers are represented by the National Immigration Law Center, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the law firm of Sherrard, Roe, Voigt, and Harbison.