Appeals court criticizes New Bedford immigration raid
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff
Add a federal appeals court to those criticizing how the government handled the March arrest of 361 immigrant workers at a New Bedford leather-goods factory.
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said yesterday that the raid by the US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which drew widespread public criticism for separating parents from children, was "ham-handed" and seemed callous.
The appeals court nonetheless upheld a May ruling by US District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns dismissing a civil lawsuit on behalf of the immigrants who sought to be returned from Texas detention centers where they were held after their arrests to await deportation.
The agency raided the Michael Bianco Inc. factory on March 6 and arrested suspected illegal immigrant workers, many of whom were from Guatemala and most of whom were women. They were flown to Texas, and many were unable to contact family members or lawyers, according to their lawyers.
The appeals court said it hopes ICE views the raid as a "learning experience in order to devise better, less ham-handed ways of carrying out its important responsibilities."
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