FOREST, Miss. (WJTV) – Organizations, volunteers and first responders gathered at El Pueblo in Forest to remember the largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Mississippi history.

Despite the devastating stories of being ripped from their families, survivors spoke out on the fifth anniversary of the raids.

On August 7, 2019, ICE agents raided poultry plants in Central Mississippi. They arrested and deported more than 680 Hispanic workers.

Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law, said the center was one of many organizations that helped raise almost $1 million for humanitarian aid after the incident.

“Out of the ugliness of the raids came, this coalition of people who, some of whom, by the way, might have chanted build that wall on the macro-political level. But when it came down to people in their local communities who’d been hurt, showed up with casseroles and diapers and cash contributions,” said Johnson.

Grassroot organizations, like El Pueblo, have been assisting those in need.