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Patrick blasts Feds for New Bedford immigration raid

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff
March 8, 2007

An angry Governor Deval Patrick blasted federal immigration officials today for a massive raid at a New Bedford leather manufacturer that left dozens of children without caregivers.

State officials are concerned that more children may still be in hiding because their parents or guardians never came home from work Tuesday. The roundup by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that netted 327 immigrants working at Michael Bianco Inc., a waterfront factory in New Bedford that makes handbags and military backpacks.

Without the knowledge of the Patrick administration, immigration officials flew approximately 150 of the immigrants to Texas Wednesday night for formal deportation hearings. Administration officials said the federal government has refused requests by the state to halt additional flights.

"No one on my team is satisfied with that answer," Patrick said today in a press conference at the State House.

The federal government has agreed to fly suspected illegal immigrants back if it is determined that they are the primary caregiver for a child in Massachusetts, Patrick said.

Immigration officials on Wednesday defended the raid and said that agents interviewed each detainee several times to determine whether they had children and ensure they were being adequately cared for. On Tuesday night, 60 of the suspects were released on humanitarian grounds, most of them because they were the sole or primary caregivers of young children.