NORWALK, Ohio — It was 4 .am. Thursday when Juan Perez awoke to a phone call from his brother saying that he would be boarding a plane for Mexico that afternoon.

Less than 48 hours had passed, Mr. Perez said, since his brother became one of 114 immigrant workers detained in an Immigrant and Customs Enforcement raid Tuesday at Corso’s Garden Centers in Sandusky and Castalia — and one of a handful who have been able to make contact with family since then.

“The more broken thing is that people had to leave the kids behind,” Mr. Perez, a longtime Norwalk resident, said.

On Tuesday, federal agents descended on the centers in large-scale raids designed to combat illegal immigration. Since then, community members — including Mr. Perez — have mobilized to coordinate legal and financial aid for detainees. Donated paper towels, baby formula, towels, and food have been distributed to those impacted by the raids.

Organizers of the response said 60 young children are without at least one parent.

Overall reaction since Tuesday’s raids has been mixed. Elected officials from both parties who represent the area — along with their constituents — have expressed outrage at what occurred, but also support for efforts to stem illegal immigration.

Some have argued the need for such raids underscores greater inherent problems in America’s current immigration system.

“We should support our law enforcement and ICE officials and have confidence they are doing their jobs correctly before questioning the validity of the raid,” said Steven Kraus, who is seeking election to Congress as a Republican running against longtime U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo).

“I suspect in the coming days and months there will be more raids and more illegal immigrants deported,” the statement said. “If you are here illegally, please help us keep you and your loved ones safe and together by making plans for legally immigrating to the United States. We’d love to have you here, but legally of course.”

Miss Kaptur in a statement Wednesday said her office was in “direct contact” with ICE officials and local advocates following Tuesday’s raid. In an interview with The Blade, Miss Kaptur connected illegal immigration to labor trafficking, saying, “Some of these people are caught between the pitiful conditions they come from ... and the labor traffickers” who exploit them for cheap labor.

Just a few miles south of Corso’s, Miss Kaptur’s district borders the district of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Urbana) who, unlike Miss Kaptur, opposes a pathway to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants raised in the United States.

Mr. Jordan called America a “nation of immigrants,” but a nation built on the rule of law. He called for securing the nation’s borders and improving the nation’s system for legal immigration.

He also recently told The Blade that voters sent a clear message when they elected President Trump.

“They want the border security wall done, they want to end chain migration, they want the visa lottery, they want to deal with sanctuary cities,” he said.

Other conservative lawmakers diverged in their responses to the raid.

U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) underscored in a statement to The Blade the importance of “enforc[ing] the laws on the books.”

Republican Sen. Rob Portman said that his office continues to gather information about the raid.

Toledo has become a meeting point for legal teams and activists seeking to coordinate their efforts to help families impacted by the ICE raids. Designated a “welcoming city,” Toledo can limit collection of information about immigration status and aid immigrants.

On Thursday morning, community leaders, activists, and lawyers met in Toledo and during a news conference announced their plans following closed-door discussions the night before.

Some elected officials condemned the raids.

“What happened in Erie County flies in the face of everything we’ve stood for in northwest Ohio,” Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken told The Blade before the news conference.

Imploring authorities to “impose some humanity,” Farm Labor Organizing Committee President Baldemar Velasquez said the first priority is to ensure detainees get due process.

He and others have argued that American values were compromised during the raids, and that migrant workers contribute necessary labor that citizens are not willing to do.

“This is about human beings and who we are as a nation,” Mr. Velasquez said.

Referring to the Catholic Church as an “immigrant Church with a long history of embracing diverse newcomers,” Bishop Daniel E. Thomas said parishes are working to help families affected by “this extreme action.”

“Respecting the role of government and law enforcement, we recognize our current immigration policies are broken and are actively contributing to the suffering and separation of vulnerable families, as evidenced in the most recent large-scale immigration action at Flower and Garden Centers in Sandusky, Ohio,” the statement said. “No matter our political persuasion, when families are broken apart, as in this raid, we should all recognize that the common good is not served.”

Norwalk resident Angelina Chavez — who has been working to match numbers assigned to detainees with names in order to identify them — echoed the sentiment and protested narratives about immigrants that associate them with brutal gangs and drugs.

“We are not animals. ... Neither do we rob or kill,” she said. “We do the work Americans don’t want to do.”

If detainees have not signed voluntary departure agreements, they can appeal the deportation in a hearing before a federal immigration judge, Eugenio Mollo, managing attorney for Toledo-based Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, told The Blade.

Lawyers plan to visit a detention facility holding some arrested workers on Friday.

Contact Lily Moore-Eissenberg at lillianme@theblade.com or 419-724-6368.

Contact Hailey Fuchs at hfuchs@theblade.com , 419-724-6050, or on Twitter @Hailey_Fuchs.

First Published June 7, 2018, 3:17 p.m.