Corso's update: Local representatives take action

In the weeks since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Sandusky, Ohio-based retailer Corso's Flower & Garden Center, members of Congress have weighed in on the situation.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, whose 9^th Congressional District includes Sandusky, announced on June 17 that she plans to visit one of the federal detention centers holding detainees of the ICE raid on Corso's, according to the Sandusky Register. The June 5 raid led to the arrest of 114 employees accused of working in the U.S. without proper documentation.

Kaptur’s staff said she will visit the detention facility in Calhoun County, Mich., near Battle Creek, on Monday morning.

"The visit is scheduled to include conversations with those being kept at the facility as well as a briefing from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials,” a news release issued by Kaptur’s office states, according to the Sandusky Register.

Kaptur's office also issued a statement on the raid itself on June 6. 

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According to The Vindicator, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio's 13^th Congressional District wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen about Corso's raid.

"I’m deeply concerned about the use of aggressive force and disruptive manner in which ICE forcibly detained 114 individuals," Ryan's letter reads. "No person should be deported without full due process or separated from their children and families. We are a welcoming nation, a compassionate nation, an understanding nation – ripping these families apart is contrary to who we are as a nation. These raids have scarred our communities and left people feeling hurt, scared, and confused. I urge Secretary Nielsen and the Department of Homeland Security to put these families first and keep them together."

The Sandusky Register also reports that one of the 114 Corso's employees arrested during the raid has been deported from the United States, due to a reinstated deportation order.

Employers throughout he U.S. use a system called E-Verify to ensure their workers are documented and authorized to work in the country. However, as reported by the Sandusky Register, some experts claim the E-Verify system is not without its flaws. Additionally, it is currently unknown if Corso's Flower & Garden Center used E-Verify to check the eligibility of its workforce. Ohio does not require that employers use E-Verify.