The Journey of Baldomero Orozco-Juarez

Baldomero Orozco-Juarez found himself in a precarious situation while working at a poultry processing plant in Carthage, Mississippi. He was meticulously slicing chicken meat into tenders when immigration agents suddenly burst in, brandishing their weapons. In a state of panic, some of his coworkers attempted to escape, but there was no refuge in sight.

Ultimately, Mr. Orozco-Juarez was apprehended, alongside dozens of other undocumented workers at the facility. He endured a grueling 10 months in federal detention before being forcibly returned to his homeland in Guatemala. This raid was part of a much larger operation that unfolded across Mississippi that fateful day in August 2019, marking the most extensive workplace sweep in over a decade and the largest executed during President Donald J. Trump’s administration. In total, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 680 individuals at various poultry plants throughout central Mississippi.

As Mr. Trump campaigns to reclaim the presidency, he has made bold promises to deport millions, potentially orchestrating the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. His advisers have indicated that aggressive workplace raids, akin to the 2019 Mississippi operation, would play a critical role in this extensive deportation strategy.

However, five years following the Mississippi raids, Baldomero Orozco-Juarez, now 40 years old, has successfully returned to the United States and is once again residing in Carthage. After being away for 19 months, he was resolute in his determination to reunite with his family. Currently, he is employed at a different chicken processing plant, earning $12.50 an hour to clean the machinery that processes the carcasses, dealing with blood and meat remnants.

Although he now possesses a work permit, the specter of deportation continues to loom over him. Mr. Orozco-Juarez has become an advocate for the rights of undocumented workers, shedding light on the challenging and often dangerous conditions they face in their workplaces.

In a touching moment of community and faith, Baldomero Orozco-Juarez, along with his family, attended Sunday Mass at St. Anne Catholic Church in Carthage, Mississippi, in October.