Posted on Fri, Nov. 23, 2007
ICE chief’s efforts praised and panned
By LYNN FRANEY
The Kansas City Star
A year ago, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept into six Swift & Co. meat-processing plants and arrested more than 1,200 alleged illegal immigrants.

The agency’s biggest work-site raid ever seemed to be a crowning moment for Julie Myers, the Shawnee native who has led the agency for almost two years. But in this era of intense debate about illegal immigration, the raids provided Myers little protection from critics.

Yes, it showed that Myers, who defended her work in an interview Friday with The Kansas City Star, had awakened ICE from its dormancy during President Bush’s first term. And that has earned her a shot at continuing to lead the agency after her temporary appointment ends next month.

But some in the anti-illegal immigration crowd dismissed the raids as being more about show than substance. Others criticized focusing on immigrants but not employers.

Advocates for immigrants panned the raids for ripping parents from their children.

“Man, I’d hate to have her job,â€