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Sarah Dallof reportingLaw enforcement officers raided an industrial complex in Utah County this morning.
More than 50 people are in custody. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE), the majority of those arrested today were men, many the primary breadwinners for their families.
We were at the ICE office in Orem today, watching car after car of family members pull in, trying to figure out what's happening and what to do next.
Wendy Castaneda is the wife of one of the men arrested in today's raid. She and family friend Maria Ortiz, who's been trying to get Wendy's husband legal status, came down to ICE's Orem office to plead his case. Ortiz said, "We've been trying to do his paperwork for years, waiting and waiting."
Besides their 3-year-old daughter, Samantha, the Castenedas also have a home. Now her husband will likely be deported, and she says she has no idea what will happen to either.
ICE spokesman Greg Palmore said, "We try to make this as humane as possible. It's a blow for a lot of families."
ICE says it is providing medical care and immigration advocates to help those in custody. A team of Latin community leaders will also help families impacted by the raid. They will help families plan for the future, figure out how to make rent and buy food.
Tony Yapias, of Projecto Latino de Utah, said, "Most of these people who left this morning, this is one of the chances they take. They don't know if they're going to return."
Perhaps the hardest decision is what to do with their children, like 3-year-old Samantha, whose father has worked illegally in the U.S. for years. "The issue here is much wider. Human lives are being impacted," Yapias said.
For family members wanting to check the status of those taken into custody today, there is a toll free number, 1-866-341-3858.
A meeting for families has been organized tonight by Yapias at the St. Francis Catholic Church on 65 E. 500 North in Orem. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
