Ira Glass Act One, The Sudden Departure. When we started putting this show together, we talked a lot about the rapture. You know, when the righteous get lifted to heaven, just a small number of them, leaving the rest of us behind. And I say us, because I know exactly where I end up in that story. Maybe you've seen the TV show about this kind of thing, The Leftovers. Anyway, one of our producers, Lilly Sullivan, she visited a town, where all in one morning, hundreds of people learned that their loved ones are gone and they were left behind. Anna heard when she was at school. She was a junior, eating lunch by the football field.

Anna And one of my teachers, she came up towards me, and said someone needed me at the office. So, I just got off the bleachers and walked to the office. I didn't think too much of it.

Ira Glass When she got there, her mom and her aunt were waiting for her.

Anna And my mom just came up to me and hugged me. And she looked at me, and she's like, it's OK, we'll get him out. I still didn't understand.

Ira Glass Not far away, when school ended, 13-year-old Adrian had a feeling that something was going on, because his dad was not acting normal at all when he picked up him and his little sisters, Gabriella and Eva.

Adrian Like, I was sitting in front of the car. He was kind of upset, or something like he usually says to us, like, oh, how was your day.

Ira Glass This is Gabriella.

Gabriella I remember asking, can I use the computer when I get home. He said no. And then I asked him, can we go outside. And he said no. Like, I saw in the mirror, like if he was in a different world, not here.

Ira Glass Their little sister, Eva, was 10.

Eva And me and my sister were like, what's going on dad? And he-- then, he was like, I'm going to tell you when we get home. So, then we got home. He said to sit down on the couch. And he started to tell us that they got my mom. He was like, the immigration got your mom. Then all of us, like, just started to cry.

Lilly Sullivan Did you know what that meant?

Eva Sort of.

Ira Glass What happened was that immigration had done a workplace raid, the kind where ICE swoops into a factory or business and arrests hundreds or dozens of undocumented workers-- big, workplace raids, where hundreds get arrested all at once. The US hadn't done them for a decade. But then the Trump administration brought them back. ICE says that when they do these operations, the employer is the primary target, the boss. When they find undocumented workers at a work site, they don't turn a blind eye. And since they know ahead of time that workers will probably be there, they often bring buses. So anyway, my co-worker Lilly Sullivan, she was interested in these big raids, because she'd heard that when one of them happens, it ripples through the whole community. It doesn't just affect the families that lose somebody, but everybody else in town as well. And the place she visited was the very first place that the Trump administration hit with one of these raids, Morristown, Tennessee. That raid happened a year ago this month. She put together this story about, first, the families impacted by the raid, and then everybody else in town. We've changed all the kids' names in this story, here on the radio. Here's Lilly.

Lilly Sullivan ICE picked up 97 undocumented workers that day, almost everyone working at a slaughterhouse outside of town. People told me it was like a bomb had gone off. Helicopters were circling the town. A big public road was blocked off. Officers in uniforms they didn't recognize directing traffic. Factory parking lots all over town that were usually full emptied out, as workers scared of ICE fled home for the day. One family I talked to a lot about the days that followed, I'll call them the Garcias. Their dad had been picked up the morning of the raid, while the kids were at school, doing school stuff. Manny was in the sixth grade and rode the bus home with his friends. They were talking about math homework and gossiping. That's his word. He was surprised to see his mom's car in the driveway when the bus pulled up. He usually gets home before her.

Manny So, I was like, OK, mom, mom. Mom was home. But the door was locked. I was like, ma, ma-ma. And I didn't hear anything. So I'd start knocking, and I say my little brother's name, and open up.

Lilly Sullivan Were you surprised it was locked?

Manny Yeah. He never locks it, unless he's like scared or he's doing something.

Lilly Sullivan Manny figured his little brother, Eric, was making videos and had locked the door so nobody would walk in on him.

Manny Cause like, he records videos of himself, like making some slime.

Lilly Sullivan Videos of making slime?

Manny Yeah. This really, ooey, gooey liquid that he could play with, he did that all the time.

Lilly Sullivan Eric finally let him in.

Manny And he just immediately told me, hey, our dad is gone. They took our dad. I felt my stomach, it was-- felt like I was going to vomit.

Lilly Sullivan Eric, who's nine, had gotten home right before Manny. Their mom was home and she told them right away.

Eric And then my mom said that they got your dad, migration. And I was just like-- I said, what's that? What does that mean?

Lilly Sullivan Their mom had locked herself in the house. She'd been sitting inside, curtains drawn, lights off, hiding quietly since morning. They sat with her on the couch, making no noise. She'd been watching Facebook Live updates all day, people posting about their families. She knew that a lot of people had gone to where the arrested people were being held, in a big armory outside of town. All day, their mom had been too afraid to head down there, afraid to get so close to ICE. She's undocumented too. If she were taken, her kids would be completely on their own. But after seeing so many people there all day, including some people that she knew didn't have papers, she decided to risk it. Her husband's diabetic and he needed his medication.

Mom [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan And so I pulled myself together, she said, and I took the risk.

Mom [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan I said, let's go, they can't get all of us who are down there.

Mom [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan If they take us, they take us.

Mom [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan I got up and I went. She brought one of her older sons with her, her 13 year old. He's a citizen. And she left her younger two kids at home. She told Manny to take care of his little brother until they got back. As she left, she did the thing that lots of moms do to distract their kids in an emergency.

Eric My mom told me start cleaning, and then we started cleaning.

Manny So, first we do living room, like sweep, clean what's on floor. Then we do the dishes, put them back where they are. And then, dining room, clean the table, clean the chairs. But it was usually quiet. We never liked talked on that day. We didn't talk the whole time we were cleaning.

Eric And after we were done cleaning, which was nighttime, I got something to eat.

Lilly Sullivan Manny made Eric dinner, a pop tart and milk and put on cartoons for him, Teen Titans Go. He sat next to him while he watched. Manny, himself, was glued to his phone, watching all the Facebook updates and Snapchatting with friends, trying to find news. Around 11:00, they got a call from their mom. She told them to go to bed. They had school tomorrow. She said they'd be home soon. But neither of the boys could sleep.

Eric I was feeling sad that-- that-- oh, he's not actually coming back. But then, every time my mom always said, he's coming back, he's coming back.

Lilly Sullivan Did you not believe that he would come back that night? Or were you worried that he wouldn't?

Eric I didn't believe he was coming.

Lilly Sullivan Why not?

Eric I don't know.

Lilly Sullivan Yeah, were you scared?

Manny I was pretty scared, cause-- I was scared it was going to be me and him all by ourselves. And they would be gone. And we'd be just me and him. Just I was thinking all of that in my mind. Cause I have to take care of him. I have to cook him food and I have to like, you know, take responsibility and take care of him.

Lilly Sullivan Wait, but how old are you? Isn't that too much to do?

Manny I mean, I'm 12, so, I'm pretty-- I already know everything about him, and what he likes, and everything. So, I think I'll be pretty good in taking care of him.

Lilly Sullivan Eventually, their mom came home. Their dad didn't. At 11:00 that night, he was one of 54 people that ICE sent to detention in Alabama. A teacher who'd gone to the armory that day to be with his students and try to help, he told me that seeing these white buses line up and file out in the dark, no goodbyes, no information, it felt like something out of the X Files. Of the 97 undocumented workers picked up that morning, ICE let 32 people go, one by one, over the course of the day. ICE had put them into deportation proceedings, but said they could wait for their court dates at home. It was strange, who got released and who didn't. They released mostly women, some single mothers, but not all of them. They released some people with chronic illnesses, but not all of them. There were a few couples who worked together at the plant, couples with kids, both parents detained. In cases like that, someone told me that ICE told them to choose-- said, we'll let one of you go home, choose who. People always chose the mom. I talked to the special agent in charge of the Morristown operation. He told me ICE has a policy to not leave kids with no parent or caretaker. So when two parents are detained, they might release one. It's at the officer's discretion. Morristown is small enough, under 30,000 people, that nobody in town could avoid what happened. Everyone saw the helicopters. Lots of people knew someone who'd been picked up or knew their kids or other relatives. When dozens of officers come storming into a small town, rounding up a hundred people, it's the kind of thing where people spill out of their houses and watch. Krista Etter lives up the hill from the plant. She had been scared that there was some criminal on the loose. She called her daughter, who was at home, and told her to lock the doors. When Krista heard it was a raid at the slaughterhouse, she hiked across the field by her house to go see. She saw the ICE trailer, officers cordoning off the entrance to the plant. Krista's a Trump supporter. She's not a fan of illegal immigration. Most of the area is that way. The county went 77% to Trump. She didn't know anyone who'd been directly affected. Over the weekend, she went to a vigil for the parents who'd been taken away, not because she wanted to. She didn't. She's the general manager for a local paper. And they asked her to take pictures. She says that when she showed up, she was actually a little angry that all these people were there at all, like what do they expect? These people broke the law. They should have seen it coming.

Krista Etter I thought this possibly was a good thing, that ICE was cracking down on immigration. They're here illegally. They need to go home.

Lilly Sullivan And then she started listening to the kids at the mic.

Teenager [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Krista Etter There was a young man. He was a teenager, 14, 15 years old, that said, he just wanted his mom to come home.

Teenager [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Krista Etter He didn't have anybody else. He just wanted his mom to come home.

Teenager [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Krista Etter It just really, just shook my soul. It was-- it was almost overwhelming, because there were so many children speaking. And-- and, I actually kind of had to get out of there. Because I was like, it's getting hot. And I have health issues. And I was like, I need to-- I have to remove myself, you know, walk out to my car, get a breath. And God's kind of going, see, I wanted you here, because you're not correct in your thinking. You're not correct in thinking that this is so black and white. Because when I heard crack down on illegal immigration, I interpreted it as a crackdown on illegal immigrants that were criminals. If there was a drug situation, you know, violent criminals, pedophile, any kind of situation of that nature. That's what I expected. And I really believe I'm not the only one who did that. I don't think anybody ever really stopped to think that they were going to go after the family man working at the meatpacking plant. That's not what I had in mind. I'm still a President Trump supporter. I guess, I have to hold out hope that maybe he didn't understand he was going after the guy in the meatpacking plant. I mean, I guess he probably does.

Lilly Sullivan I talked to a lot of people in town, who, after the raid, said they felt stunned. People kept reminding me, this is the Bible Belt. This town's God fearing. There's over 100 churches in the area. Love thy neighbor, people take that seriously. And that really shaped the town's response to the raid. Reverend David Williams is a pastor in town at a Southern Baptist Church. He describes himself as Republican, conservative, very pro-life, pro military, pro Second Amendment. Also, he led a prayer at the vigil.

David Williams That Jesus loves the little children.

Interpreter [SPEAKING SPANISH]

David Williams Regardless of their color.

Interpreter [SPEAKING SPANISH]

David Williams Or the status of their citizenship. [APPLAUSE]

Lilly Sullivan He felt he needed to do it, after driving past the raid all day, on his way between his house and his church.

David Williams And it was very creepy to see a particular ethnic group basically rounded up. As Americans, we are better than this.

Lilly Sullivan I'm just trying to understand, this is kind of exactly what President Trump said he would do. He promised workplace raids, right? And then, everyone was really shocked when it actually happened. Why are people surprised, do you know?

David Williams I don't know. I don't-- I hope-- I don't think when people voted for Trump that they were voting for more raids. I think people were voting for a secure border. You know, surely people didn't vote that families would be separated, and that families torn apart, and children scared, when am I going to see my mother or father again? We're talking about our neighbors. They're in the shadow of the steeple of the church where I serve. So I have a moral and biblical obligation. It became-- it became a divine thing, yeah. I hope I have a job after this interview.

Lilly Sullivan Other people told me the same thing, their faith told them that they needed to help these families. So this very conservative town stepped up to help the people who'd been detained and their families. Morristown's pretty small, but it's also pretty well integrated. Latinos have been there for decades. Whites and Latinos live in the same neighborhoods. The schools are mixed. By the morning after the raid, the town had raised $30,000 to bond people out of detention and to help with necessities. Two weeks later, it was up to $90,000. Again, here's Krista.

Krista Etter I think some of it was guilt. It was guilt. Because you don't raise the kind of money in these communities, because we all thought we were right in our assumptions. Do you see what I mean? It was guilt. We were like, wow, we all thought that they should all go home. We all thought we needed to build a wall. And then, all of a sudden, we watched families being torn apart. We never thought about those that were left behind.

Lilly Sullivan Now they did. Pastors in town started a telephone chain, opening up churches around town as sanctuaries, with cots for people who were scared that ICE would come back. When an immigration raid hits, you don't usually hear about this kind of response-- a town wide effort to pick up the pieces. Longtime residents lined up to volunteer at churches, brought trucks full of food and donations. One organizer told me that a local bishop dropped off $5,000 and said, this is from my church, I'm sorry, this is not what we intended. People connected families with lawyers, wrote hundreds of character references for people detained. The Garcia family, where the kids cleaned the house the day of the raid, the kids' teachers came by each week with bags of groceries. And two months later, at the crack of dawn, their dad came home. The town donated $1,000 to go toward his bond. And the mom was able to scrape together another $9,000 and bond him out. His older sons picked him up from Louisiana. They drove all night to get home. He hadn't told his younger sons he was out. Their mom got them out of bed, saying, wake up, we're going to McDonald's for breakfast. Hurry up, we're about to leave. They were putting on their shoes when their dad opened the screen door and said, so what are you going to get me from McDonald's? Their mom actually videoed it on her phone. [CRYING] The second his dad walks in, the youngest son, Eric, loses it. Starts wailing. [CRYING] He's hugging his dad and saying, papi. The raid happened a year ago this month. And even now, the kids still cling to their dad.

Lilly Sullivan You always want to go with him wherever he goes?

Manny Yeah, even just like go pick up tortillas for whenever mom's cooking. Or if he's just going to run errand or go pay a bill, or something like that. He's like, oh, only one person can go, because we can't all go. So we all take turns going with him sometimes. Because it only gets fair.

Lilly Sullivan Are you serious? You take turns going with him when he goes out?

Manny Yeah.

Lilly Sullivan Their dad has his reasons for only taking one kid at a time.

Dad [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan Well, no, because they asked for a ton of stuff. And then one of them doesn't have his shoes on, and one isn't dressed. So I just take the one who's ready.

Dad [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan The first one, and then later, if I go back out, I take the other one, like that.

Dad [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan It's like wherever I go, they want to go too. And sometimes, their mom doesn't want me to go out alone either.

Dad [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan They think that at any moment, the same thing will happen.

Dad [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan And I hope not.

Dad [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan But only God knows what will happen.

Dad [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Lilly Sullivan So, yeah. He's still at home. He's in deportation proceedings. His court date is next year. And no one knows if he'll have to leave. So they have to plan. The older kids are getting jobs. The younger ones are learning to cook, so that they can help their mom, preparing for that possibility in case he goes.