Justin Rood December 20, 2006, 2:18 PM

The Des Moines Register reports today:

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa wrote Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff on Tuesday to say he is appalled by the process used to detain and deport workers in raids earlier this month at six Swift & Co. packing plants, including one in Marshalltown.

Harkin, a Democrat, said a telephone hot line for information for family members set up by the government has gone unanswered at times. It “provided no information of any use” at other times, Harkin said in the letter.

It has been “almost impossible” for lawyers and members of the clergy to gain access to workers who were detained, and workers were taken to other states without being granted access to lawyers, Harkin said.

Although assurances were made that parents with small children would be released to make arrangements for their children’s care, “there continues to be reports of numerous single mothers remaining in custody,” Harkin said.

Harkin said he hopes Chertoff shares his belief that “the failure to ensure that basic legal rights and humanitarian protections are afforded to individuals in our immigration system reflects poorly on the principles that have made the United States strong.”

Update: Iowa governor Tom Vilsack also fired off an angry letter to Chertoff, criticising the agency’s “information blackout” following the raids and for putting his state’s National Guard at risk.

Immigration