(NBC News) President Trump is defending this week's immigration raids in Mississippi, calling them a "deterrent" to migrants thinking about entering the country illegally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 680 people Wednesday, suspected of being undocumented immigrants, at seven Mississippi food processing plants.
It's the largest immigration raid ever in one state.
"I want people to know, that if they come into the United States illegally, they're getting out. They're going to be brought out. And this serves as a very good deterrent," President Trump said.
The Trump administration and ICE are drawing criticism for apparently not having a plan to take care of children left without parents at home after the raids.
One ICE official told NBC News "We are a law enforcement agency, not a social services agency."
Churches, schools and concerned community members have stepped in to help.
Federal prosecutors will not say whether the owners or managers of the Mississippi food processing plants will be charged or fined for employing undocumented immigrants.
Roughly 270 of those arrested in the raids have been released after they were given court dates. The rest are being held in federal facilities in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Read more: https://nbcnews.to/2ONuHeA
