Mike Feely

After a tough day of testing on Wednesday, some Hamilton County Schools students got off their buses to find an even more stressful situation at home: Their parents were nowhere to be found.

Tennessee and local officials still are assessing the needs of the children, who they say are among those most profoundly affected by Wednesday’s sweeping federal immigration raid at Chattanooga’s Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plants.

“There are a lot of families really hurting,” said Mike Feely, executive director of the St. Andrew’s Center, a resource for the city’s multi-cultural communities. “If you have that many moms and dads arrested, that’s just plain old rough. We’re going to be cleaning up for a long time because of this.”

The U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arranged for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services to be on hand during the raid, which took place about 8:15 a.m., to ensure that any unchaperoned children would have a place to stay, ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarrita said.

She could not say how many children were affected.

“It’s certainly something that ICE doesn’t take lightly,” Ms. Zamarrita said.

Any children born in the United States have the right to remain in the country whether their parents are deported or not, she said. If the children are here illegally, they will not be prosecuted in court but will be required to leave the country if and when their parents are deported, Ms. Zamarrita said.

A handful of Children’s Services officials were on standby Wednesday to discuss custody arrangements with detained parents, according to agency spokesman Rob Johnson. No children had been taken into state custody by Wednesday evening, he said, since neighbors and relatives were able to step in and help.

Hamilton County Schools officials spent the day helping to coordinate the custody effort after the raid, which came as students systemwide were taking Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests, schools spokeswoman Danielle Clark said.

“If we had knowledge of students whose parents work at (Pilgrim’s Pride), we took steps to ensure that, if they were taking the bus home or were supposed to be picked up, there would be someone there to meet them,” Ms. Clark said. Every child was accounted for by the end of the day, she said.

The system has no idea how many of those children might be undocumented, she said, because schools officials are not allowed to ask for more than a birth certificate and proof of residency before enrolling a child.

Ms. Clark said the schools will concentrate today on making sure any affected students return to continue TCAP testing, since schools without 95 percent test participation will not be able to meet adequate yearly progress guidelines mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

But officials also want students to return to school because they can find the comfortable environment and counseling they may no longer have at home, she said.

“School is a place where they feel safe, feel loved and feel cared for,” Ms. Clark said. “It’s about making sure the kids get what they need.”