“Families have been separated and children are without their mother,” said Pastor Roberto Velez of the Iglesia Cristiana Peniel (Peniel Christian Church) as he continuously worked to talk to many of those affected by federal agents’ roundup of illegal immigrants Monday. “There are some situations where both parents are gone.”

Pastor Roberto and Maria Velez have been faced with numerous questions from their congregants about the welfare of family members and people’s nationality.

Roberto Velez said members of the Hispanic community of Jones and Forrest counties are faced with a lot of uncertainties following Monday’s roundup by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) officials at Howard Industries.

Roberto Velez said his congregations have “been devastated by this.”

Velez serves as a pastor of the Peniel Christian Church, which is an Assembly of God Church in Laurel, as well as the pastor of the New Covenant Church of Laurel and the New Community Church of Hattiesburg.

“It’s a difficult, trying and emotional time,” the pastor said. “All of our churches have been affected by this.”

Velez said he began receiving telephone calls over the weekend of people being concerned about “rumors they heard.”

Then about 8 a.m. Monday, Velez said his office telephone, as well as his cell phone, began ringing and have continuously rang ever since with calls from people concerned about their family members and their citizenship.

“We have been getting calls from everywhere,” Velez said. “I’m receiving calls from everywhere about everything. I’m getting calls from Mexico as well as many places in the United States.”

Velez said there’s a lot of uncertainty going on.

“There is a lot of speculation and rumors,” Velez said Monday afternoon. “We are concerned about the people.”

Maria Velez, the pastor’s wife, said she and her husband are “concerned about the children.”

“I have to look out for the welfare of my people,” Roberto Velez said. “I need to be a pastor to them. However, right now we don’t know how many people are involved.

“Howard was a major employer of Hispanics. So is Sanderson Farms, Wayne Farms (here in Laurel), Southern Hens (in Moselle) and Peco in Bay Springs,” the pastor said. “This is not only going to affect our community, but it’s going to affect the City of Laurel and the local economy.”

The couple said they are unsure at this time how many of their congregants were detained by federal authorities.

Brandon Montgomery with public affairs for ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C., said federal officials are continuing the processing of those detained at Howard Industries’ Laurel (Pendorff) plant and its (Ellisville) headquarters.

Montgomery said 350 Howard employees have been identified as illegal immigrants.

Velez said he has been informed that some of those detained are being released with a monitoring device.

Montgomery said 50 of the 350 illegal immigrants identified have been determined to be “eligible for alternative to detention status based on humanitarian matters.”

Montgomery said eligibility for alternative detention is determined on a “case by case base. It could be a person who has a parent who is sick, the person could be pregnant, be a nursing mother or have many other factors.”

Montgomery said those eligible for alternative to detention are not being detained by federal officials, but they “still have to report to court at a set time.”

Attorney Robert Ogletree met with family members of those arrested Monday evening. Ogletree, who said he has met with members of the Hispanic community in Laurel before, said he was asked by several local people to offer advice.

“I’m here to pray with them, to cry with them, to answer their questions as best I can, to explain the process as best I can,” Ogletree said.

Ogletree said the 300 people detained will be processed through the federal system. The 50 eligible for alternative to detention status will be monitored in a way similar to house arrest.

“They will obtain history, where they came from, how they came to the United States,” Ogletree said. “Hopefully they’ve been advised of their right to obtain legal council.”

Ogletree said the 350 people will more than likely be given court dates in either New Orleans or Oakdale, La. The 300 not eligible for the alternate monitoring will more than likely be detained in facilities, such as jails, that are under contract to house detainees. He said they will appear before judges for bond hearings and bond is usually set between $1500 and $10,000.

Ogletree said his main concern is for the families impacted.

“You have a mother and father subject to deportation, but have children who are American citizens,” he said. “It’s my belief it creates an extreme hardship on the children.”

There was no word as to the impact the operation will have on local schools. Pastor Velez said there are many Hispanic students in the Laurel School District and also at West Jones Elementary School.

Laurel School District Superintendent of Education Dr. Glenn McGee said the district had not been contacted by federal officials.

“As of 3 p.m., Monday, the Laurel School District has not been contacted by any member of the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement team. Without clear information concerning their reported operations in Jones County, we cannot, at this time, make any assessments on possible impact to schools,” McGee said.



News Editor Jason Niblett contributed to this report.