Rural Areas are in the Middle of the Crisis

By GLADYS GODINEZ

Community Organizer

Center for Rural Affairs

More than 600 people were detained on Aug. 7, 2019, in small rural towns in the state of Mississippi by Homeland Security Investigations (HMI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As was evident last month in Mississippi, resources such as interpreters and immigration attorneys are limited in rural communities when leaders respond to a raid. Community members and statewide resources become a vital partnership in responding to this type of humanitarian emergency.

The Center for Rural Affairs has worked with communities res...