BOSTON (AP) - The head of Massachusetts' social services on Monday called for the release of 20 factory workers arrested in an immigration raid, saying many have children with no one else to care for them.
They were among the 361 people taken in to custody following the raid March 6 at a Michael Bianco Inc. factory that makes equipment and apparel for the U.S. military.
Many of the suspected illegal immigrants were shipped to detention centers in Texas before a federal judge ordered the rest to remain in Massachusetts because advocates said the raid created a "humanitarian crisis."
Commissioner Harry Spence was among three-dozen state Department of Social Services workers who traveled to Texas during the weekend to interview more than 200 detainees.
Spence said the detainees he wants released have children ages 2 to 16, and a few of the children had medical conditions that required special care, including one child that required a feeding tube. All were believed to be born in the United States and therefore are U.S. citizens.
Along with the mothers being held, Spence said the group of 20 included a woman suffering from cancer and a 17-year-old boy.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Marc Raimondi said the agency would review the requests.
He said federal authorities already had released at least 60 suspected illegal immigrants, mostly because they needed to care for their children.