6 episodes

On December 12, 2006 Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the largest single day immigration enforcement action taken in United States history. This action targeted six Swift & Co. meat packaging plants across the country and resulted in nearly 1,300 arrests. Hundreds of people without documentation were deported in connection to the raids, and although the raid was over in a day the fracturing of families and communities left a lasting mark. 

Solo Éramos Niños takes a deep dive into one of the targeted communities and seeks to understand the ways the raid tore into the lives of the children and families that bore witness to it all. The series also examines ways community members have sought to fortify and uplift one another in the aftermath of the raid and what actions can be taken to protect our children moving forward.

Join hosts, Shelby and Angel Lopez, as they explore the nuances of immigration, Latine culture, first generations, mental health, and hoping for a better life for those that will come after us. 

Solo Éramos Niños Shelby and Angel Lopez

    • History
    • 5.0 • 9 Ratings

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On December 12, 2006 Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the largest single day immigration enforcement action taken in United States history. This action targeted six Swift & Co. meat packaging plants across the country and resulted in nearly 1,300 arrests. Hundreds of people without documentation were deported in connection to the raids, and although the raid was over in a day the fracturing of families and communities left a lasting mark. 

Solo Éramos Niños takes a deep dive into one of the targeted communities and seeks to understand the ways the raid tore into the lives of the children and families that bore witness to it all. The series also examines ways community members have sought to fortify and uplift one another in the aftermath of the raid and what actions can be taken to protect our children moving forward.

Join hosts, Shelby and Angel Lopez, as they explore the nuances of immigration, Latine culture, first generations, mental health, and hoping for a better life for those that will come after us. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires macOS 11.4 or higher

    Be The Change

    Be The Change

    On December 12, 2006 Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a raid in Swift & Co. facilities across the nation. This podcast has sought to tell that story and now it’s time to do something about it. Hosts Shelby and Angel Lopez, along with their guest Professor Yvette Romero Coronado, breakdown four major ways to get involved in your community. Including avenues to build community capacity for action, and to start conversations for healing and change. Follow Solo Éramos Niños to keep up with future stories about the Latine community, immigration, and first generation experiences.
    Sources/Resources: Asset Mapping by UCLA Center For Health Policy ResearchRole of Sheriffs and the arrest-to-deportation pipeline by Immigrant Legal Resouces CenterImmigration in Utah by PBS NewsHour Extra Classroom Video CollectionWhat is Mutual Aid? (Classroom Version) by Dean Spade

    • 44 min
    The Community

    The Community

    In a small, rural town, from one day to the next, 145 people were taken away. How does a town come together in the wake of such sudden upheaval to support broken families and knit together communities, all while under continued threat? Through interviews with community members and leaders, including a professor of social work from Utah State University, this episode seeks to meet this question. Explore community solidarity, community tension, and the grassroots efforts and resources that have since been created to support those in the Valley.
    Article by Matthew LaPlante: Swift Justice | Cover Story | Salt Lake City Weekly

    • 43 min
    The Impact pt. 2

    The Impact pt. 2

    Imagine: A father saying goodbye to his child, making a quick detour to drop his child off at school before going to turn himself into immigration agents. After that, this child is now expected to go and learn and ensure that his father's sacrifice was worth it. In part 2 of the impact of the Swift and Co. raids, we walk alongside Gloria, Francisco, and Jonathan as they retell their story of how the 2006 immigration enforcement shook their lives. Trauma within the Latine community often goes silenced due to fear and outright mistrust of those around them. Walk with us as we bring life to the challenges and hardships highlighted in part 1 through their difficult and heart wrenching stories.

    • 39 min
    The Impact pt. 1

    The Impact pt. 1

    How do you measure the impact of immigration enforcement and family separation? First, we must understand what it means to be impacted. In part one, hosts Shelby and Angel Lopez explore trauma, what it is and how it can shape the way people see themselves and the world around them. Trauma within the Latine and immigrant community carries even more nuance. To further understand these layers, the hosts discuss issues of trauma specific to migration, intergenerational and historical trauma, and culturally relevant healing principles for Latine people. Listen to stories of migration and subscribe to continue to explore the impact.

    • 30 min
    The Valley

    The Valley

    In episode two of Solo Éramos Niños, we center our story on the sleepy Cache Valley community, as it was shaken to its core on December 12th, 2006 when Immigration Customs Enforcement Agents arrested and deported 145 immigrants who had been working at the Swift & Co. Meat packaging facility in Hyrum, Utah.
    Step into the shoes of the Children, Employees, Teachers, After School Program Directors who recall the events of that day and the impact it had on them, their friends, families, and the community.
    Cover Art by Alexis Rausch
    Music by Chillig (Chris Illig)
    Logan, ¡Somos tus Vecinos! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCwo3hqzZdE
    Welcome to Cache Valley - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoI8HWAUAPM

    • 31 min
    The Raid

    The Raid

    Greeley, Colorado, Worthington, Minnesota, Cactus, Texas. Marshalltown, Iowa, Grand Island, Nebraska, and Hyrum, Utah. What do each of these sleepy rural towns have in common? Each hosts a Swift & Co. meat packing plant, a small population of Latine people & undocumented immigrants, and each was a site that comprised the largest single day immigration enforcement in U.S. history. Hosts Shelby and Angel Lopez set the stage in exploring why Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeted the Swift & Co. meat packing company, how the raid was carried out, and what the fallout looked like on a national level. This is the story of the 2006 Swift & Co raids and the people that lived through it.
    Written, Produced, and Edited by Angel Lopez and Shelby Lopez
    Music by Chillig
    Cover art by Alexis Rausch
    Article sources for this episode:
    https://cis.org/sites/cis.org/files/articles/2009/back309.pdf
    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/12/raid-d14.html
    https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/lockdown-greeley/
    https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/article/15-myths-about-immigration-debunked/
    https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4829962&itype=NGPSID
    https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/us/13raid.html
    https://www.deseret.com/2011/12/13/20237896/monday-vigil-remembers-2006-swift-raids-organizers-see-few-immigration-enforcement-changes
    https://www.mprnews.org/story/2006/12/15/swiftprogram
    https://nebraska.tv/news/local/impact-of-swift-raid-felt-ten-years-later-in-grand-island
    https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=53054207&itype=CMSID
    https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2171&context=etd

    • 25 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
9 Ratings

9 Ratings

Johannygfsdbj ,

Solo Éramos Niños

Angel and Shelby professionally host an important broadcast featuring a sensitive and almost forgotten event that impacted so many families in this country. This event continues to impact those families today as a result of the trauma caused by never talking about it. They bring this event back to the front by raising hard questions and having difficult conversations about immigration while accurately debunking common myths. The hosts give an impressive amount of information in this short podcast by sharing first hand stories and documented facts, keeping pace without needless rambling. I look forward to listening to further episodes!

Bracken Allen ,

Phenomenal, insightful, and heart wrenching

This is such an important story and the hosts do such a great job of sharing how immigrant families are affected by events too often forgotten by the rest of our society.

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