Stop Immigration Raids.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Several hundred immigrant supporters and religious leaders from across the country marched to the Southwest Washington headquarters of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency yesterday, strumming guitars, beating drums and waving colorful homemade banners exhorting President Obama to halt immigration raids and promote legislation offering illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
Although the demonstration featured many speeches in Spanish and cries of "Sí se puede!" -- Yes we can! -- the crowd was also notable for its diversity. Suely Neves, 26, of the Boston group Deported Diaspora had come on behalf of her fellow Cape Verde immigrants. Standing next to her, Indian American immigrant Dimple Rana, 28, said she was concerned about the fate of the Cambodian refugees she works with in Lowell, Mass.
"I've seen a lot of good friends deported because of minor prior convictions," Rana said as groups waving banners from Florida and New Orleans chanted behind her.
Many of the demonstrators had come to town to celebrate Obama's inauguration, and the mostly religious representatives who addressed the crowd portrayed the event as a chance to spiritually "cleanse" the agency of the Bush administration's stepped-up enforcement approach. At the same time, they urged Obama to make good on his campaign promise to push through a legalization plan similar to one that former president George W. Bush twice tried unsuccessfully to get through Congress.

Margarito Esquino, an activist for indigenous rights in El Salvador, lit incense and waved condor feathers toward the sky, shouting in Spanish, "O Great Spirit, we ask you to get rid of all the badness in this building and bring in the good!"
Rabbi David Schneyer, of the Am Kolel Sanctuary and Renewal Center in Beallsville, blew on a shofar, a ram's horn traditionally sounded for the Jewish new year.
The Rev. Frederick Hancock of Gethsemane United Methodist Church in Capitol Heights performed a libation ceremony meant to evoke African ancestral rituals, pouring grape juice -- symbolizing wine -- onto the roots of a potted plant as he called for strength from civil rights icons such as Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez.
Many participants said they believe Obama's first priority must be to right the economy, even if that means delaying an overhaul of immigration law for months and even years. But they are also eager for the administration to declare an immediate moratorium on deportations and immigration raids.
Antonio Bernabe, an organizer with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and one of several immigrant activists who met with Obama's transition team in recent weeks, said he was very optimistic based on its response. Still, he said, demonstrations remain necessary.
"The anti-immigrant groups are already moving, and we have to assure Obama that . . . [the raids] are not acceptable," he said.

Again ICE preventing Terror from Abroad but creating TERROR from Within

The largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history has caused panic among Hispanic families in this small southern Mississippi town, where federal agents rounded up nearly 600 plant workers suspected of being in the country Undocumented.

One worker caught in Monday's sweep at the Howard Industries transformer plant said fellow workers applauded as immigrants were taken into custody. Federal officials said a tip from a union member prompted them to start investigating several years ago.

Fabiola Pena, 21, cradled her 2-year-old daughter as she described a chaotic scene at the plant as the raid began, followed by clapping.

"I was crying the whole time. I didn't know what to do," Pena said. "We didn't know what was happening because everyone started running. Some people thought it was a bomb but then we figured out it was immigration."

About 100 of those detained were released for humanitarian reasons, many of them mothers who were fitted with electronic monitoring bracelets and allowed to go home to their children, officials said.

Another 475 workers were transferred to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Jena, La. Nine who were under 18 were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

John Foxworth, an attorney representing some of the immigrants, said eight appeared in federal court in Hattiesburg on Tuesday because they face criminal charges for allegedly using false Social Security and residency identification.

He said the raid was traumatic for families.

"There was no communication, an immediate loss of any kind of news and a lack of understanding of what's happening to their loved ones," he said. "A complete and utter feeling of helplessness."

The superintendent of the county school district said about half of the district's approximately 160 Hispanic students were absent Tuesday.

Roberto Velez, pastor at Iglesia Cristiana Peniel, where an estimated 30 to 40 percent the 200 parishioners were caught up in the raid, said that's because parents were afraid immigration officials would take them.

"They didn't send their kids to school today," he said. "How scared is that?"
Those detained were from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Peru, said Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman.

Elizabeth Alegria, 26, a Mexican immigrant, was working at the plant Monday when ICE agents stormed in. When they found out she has two sons, ages 4 and 9, she was fitted with a bracelet and told to appear in federal court next month. Her husband, Andres, was not so lucky.

"I'm very traumatized because I don't know if they are going to let my husband go and when I will see him," Elizabeth Alegria said through a translator Tuesday as she returned to the Howard Industries parking lot to retrieve her sport utility vehicle.

"We have kids without dads and pregnant mothers who got their husbands taken away," said Velez's son, Robert, youth pastor at the church. "It was like a horror story. They got handled like they were criminals."

Howard Industries is in Mississippi's Pine Belt region, known for commercial timber growth and chicken processing plants. The tech company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies, according to its Web site.

Gonzalez said agents had executed search warrants at both the plant and the company headquarters in nearby Ellisville. She said no company executives had been detained, but this is an "ongoing investigation and yesterday's action was just the first part."

A woman at the Ellisville headquarters told The Associated Press on Tuesday that no one was available to answer questions.

In a statement to the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper, Howard Industries said the company "runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for its jobs."

"It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants," the statement said.

The Mississippi raid is one of several nationwide in recent years.

On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized from the plant's human resources department, according to court records. In December 2006, 1,297 were arrested at Swift meatpacking plants in Nebraska and five other states.

Another death at Detention center

I am totally disgusted and ashamed that people dying everyday in the Desert, in Detention Centers, in Jails, in ICE hands without reservation of their Human and Civil Righst just for the Dysfunctional Immigration system. Hopefully Human rights will take hands on this case.

The 17-year-old's lifeless body was frozen in a sitting position in solitary-confinement at the Galveston County Jail.

Arturo Chavez's back was flush against a 7-foot partition for the cell's shower. A blue blanket was twisted into a noose, with one end wrapped around his neck, the other tied to a shower head.

He apparently hanged himself about 48 hours after being arrested for what started as an illegal left turn.

It may never be known what swept over Chavez, who illegally emigrated from Guatemala four years ago and spent much of his time trying to improve his English and working to send money home.

"If he did it, it was because he was so beaten down he couldn't take the pain," his older brother Adolfo Chavez said of the suicide.

What is certain is that his life was similar to those of countless people who live in the shadows of society due to their immigration status, and that things hurtled out of control after police pulled him over the night of Aug. 1.

Officials are still investigating his death, ruled a suicide.

A federal lawsuit was filed by Chavez's parents against the League City Police Department, Galveston County and Sheriff Gean Leonard. The lawsuit contends not enough was done to keep Chavez from killing himself.

Those who knew Chavez said, like many undocumented immigrants, he feared any run-in with authorities as it would likely mean he would be deported.

He left Central America when he was 13 and wanted more out of life than he could get with tips loading baggage at a bus station.

Relatives say it took him nearly 15 days to get to Houston, including sneaking into Mexico and riding a passenger bus north.

He crossed the Rio Grande and hiked through South Texas.

Human smugglers demanded $3,500 to guide him, a hefty sum met with help from family and friends.

In Houston, he was known for his hustle and held out hope his improving English skills would get him promoted from busboy to waiter.

Chavez's death was a mystery as much as a shock, said Mario Garcia, who owns the restaurant where Chavez worked.

"I don't understand how you can go from making a mistake to losing your life, I'm dumbfounded by it," Garcia said. "There are two sides to every story, and the truth is probably somewhere right in the middle."

The kid known by his family as niño, Spanish for boy, had come a long way since leaving his indigenous village. He was sending home at least $100 a week to help his mother, father and sister.

He was not only working full time, but attending Clear Creek High School's program to help newly arrived international students.

He wore woven bracelets made of blue and white yarn — the colors of Guatemala's flag — as well as an anklet with the U.S.A.'s red, white and blue.

"He was very proud of his Mayan heritage," said Elizabeth Laurence, one of his teachers. "He was a feisty young fellow, popular and wanted to learn English very much. He wasn't timid; he tried to use it."

Things were going well with his girlfriend, Jhoseline Martell, whom he met at school.

As the police cruiser's lights flashed behind him near Louisiana Street and League City Parkway, Chavez dialed Martell on his cell phone and stuffed it in his pocket.

"He said the police have stopped me, just listen," recalled Martell, 15.

He normally rode a bicycle to avoid such trouble, but he had recently bought a used green Honda sedan.

He had no driver's license, no insurance and what turned out later to be a fake identification card.

He was arrested and taken to jail. His mugshot was taken while he wore the red shirt from his job as a busboy.

Excessive force alleged

All he had made for himself in the U.S. seemed to hang in the balance as Chavez was locked up at the police station and awaiting transfer to county jail.

At one point, when the holding-cell door was opened, Chavez bolted for freedom, according to a police report.

With officers running behind, the 5-foot-3-inch Chavez made it outside and scrambled up a chain-link fence, but was grabbed by the feet.

The wire atop the fence ripped into his hands.

In the scramble, he was shocked twice with a taser and hit multiple times with a baton, according to police.

Houston attorney Randall Kallinen said the officers used excessive force to apprehend Chavez.
"He had been severely beaten," said Kallinen, who added that a head injury could bring on suicidal thoughts — a mix worsened by solitary confinement. Results of an autopsy are pending.
Gary Ratliff, assistant chief of the League City Police Department, said officers used the minimum of force to catch the fleeing prisoner.

"None of us know what this kid was thinking; no one knows what pushed him to that regard," he said of suicide.

"I really seriously feel for that family. That is a void you just can't fill," he said.

Body sent to Guatemala

Adolfo Chavez, who wears a Rosary identical to the one his brother was buried with, spoke quietly as he described how Arturo came to America to chase a dream.

He also recalled their last phone conversation from jail.

The kid always fighting for a better life sounded broken.

He was now looking at escape charges, resisting arrest, and his body ached.

Adolfo said Arturo asked him to call his parents.

"He said, 'Tell them I love them, and I've always tried to be a good son. I can't take it anymore.' "

Arturo Chavez's body was back in Guatemala last week for a funeral at his parents' home. Family and friends had to raise $6,000 to send his remains back home.

Relatives in the U.S. couldn't afford to attend.

His father, Juan Chavez, said he could hardly believe the condition of his son's body. His face, skull and back were bruised.

His legs were swollen. One hand was torn up.

"He's at peace now," the father said.

Stop the Inhumane raids know.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Three Democratic congressmen are calling for an end to raids on businesses employing Undocumented Immigrants. I want to thank Congressman Rep Joe Baca, Luis Gutierrez for being so proactive against the mass wave of Anti Immigrant sentiment against undocumented and legal Immigrants at the same time exposing the Irrational, and Inhumane treatment of Childrens in Raids by ICE.

ICE Preventing Terror from abroad but creating Terror from within

The lives of Amal and Jasmine Suleiman were changed forever. At the crack of dawn in what can only be described as a SWAT style paramilitary operation, officers from Immigration Customs Enforcement {ICE} stormed the home of the twin sisters. The twins were born in Texas on July 9, 2001.

Suddenly the twins were forced to view automatic weapons being pointed at their parents and brother. Strange men were seen yelling at the top of their lungs. Their otherwise clean home was being messed up by these strangers. Used to their mother dressing them, they did not know what to think when their older brother helped them get dressed. The twins had never seen their parents cry and they had great fear as both father and mother were crying. But nothing prepared them for the sight of seeing their father and brother handcuffed like criminals.

The twins had no idea as they left their home that morning that they were but a few hours from even more terror. Despite being told by ICE that the family would remain together, the twins were told they could not stay with their parents or brother. Each family member was given a few minutes with the twins to say goodbye before they were ushered out of the holding area. The twins were now screaming at the top of their lungs. They did not want to go.

Their Uncle was kind enough to take the twins into his home. Otherwise the twins would have been placed with Child Protective Services and put in foster care. They were scared and wanted to be with their parents and brother. This did not happen for the next 60 days. When they were united the joy was short as the twins learned they were moving to Jordan. All the twins wanted to do was to go to their home in Arlington, Texas.

The twins were told everything would be OK for them in Jordan. False promises for the twins, because they were citizens of the United States who had grown up and gone to school in an orderly society. The forced separation is still fresh in the minds of the twins. The twins refuse to leave the side of their parents for any reason. This includes going outside to play.

The twins clearly remember the words of ICE telling their parents how if the parents fought deportation the children would be put up for adoption. Mother and Father were kept from one another and ICE told each parent a different story of what the other had said. The duress at this moment of time was unbearable. How does a parent cope with the idea of having to abandon their children? Is there any decent parent that would even contemplate such an idea?

Little children were being used to make sure the policy of the United States Government, whether right or wrong, was carried out. The concept enacted by Congress of “family unity” was being completely ignored. The Suleiman family concluded that the family must remain intact at all costs. No government was going to separate their family.

The United States Government was not concerned with the particulars of this family. All ICE cared about was getting this case closed. In the details lay the horrible truths of what was being done to this family.

This story has been played out thousands of times by ICE. Countless Citizens forced to exile their country of birth because of September 11, 2001. We were a kinder people before that time. We prevent terror from abroad by creating terror from within. Just ask Amal and Jasmine Suleiman

Thousand of protesters in Postville, Iowa


On May 12, 2008, nearly 400 workers were arrested in an ICE raid on the Agriprocessors, Inc., meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. In the following months, witnesses and news media reported a number of human rights and due process violations against the workers that took place at the plant and in the makeshift courtrooms set up by the U.S. government following the raid. On July 27, 2008, activists and people of faith from Iowa and across the country marched in Postville to show solidarity for the workers and their families and to call for fair and humane immigration reform.
This video reflected the needs of Humane and comprehensive Immigration reform.

ICE Raids: The Mechanism and effects in Childrens.



When ICE and immigration officials began a series of raids on meatpacking plants and other immigrant-heavy workplaces, they triggered a series of events which affected not just undocumented students, but entire schools.

More Raids in Rhode Island.



ICE continue the Raids thru the Nation and Know dozens were arrested in immigration raids on RI courthouses.

46 Arrested in Anne Arundel County.



ICE Continue raids around the Nation not against the Criminals instead the choose the Worker.

Sisters of Mercy reacting to the Impact of Immigration raids in Iowa.




On Tuesday, May 20, Sister of Mercy Kathy Thill spoke at a press conference about what happened in Postville, Iowa when 390 of approximately 2,300 residents were arrested and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Below are her remarks.

My name is Sister Kathy Thill and I am a Sister of Mercy who works with the Latino community of Iowa. I am also a United States citizen who grew up believing that this is a democratic country in which the dignity of all people is respected and their rights protected. That is not the country I experienced this past week.

I share my experience with the hope that it will help lawmakers and my fellow citizens see that our nation's immigration policies and practices are broken and inhumane. We need comprehensive immigration reform which includes a pathway to lawful permanent residence and citizenship, meets immigrants' basic needs, encourages family unity and reunification and addresses the root causes of migration.

When ICE took over the National Cattle Congress grounds for "training purposes" a week before the raids, we knew something was going to happen. Not one of us was prepared for what did happen on Monday, May 12 in Postville, Iowa.

Sister Mary McCauley at St. Bridget's Catholic Church called me that morning, shortly after the raids began. I was one of three from El Centro Latinoamericano, a Hispanic resource center in Waterloo, who went to help in Postville. At St. Bridget's we found hundreds of people in shock and distress - frightened to leave the church for fear of being arrested and desperate to find out what was happening to their loved ones who had been arrested.

Working with the staff of St. Bridget's we did our best to meet the needs of the families and, at 4:00 p.m., we went to Agriprocessers, the site of the raid, and tried to get information on those detained. We were especially concerned about the 17 minors who had been taken during the raid. We brought a list of names and ages of the minors and requested information about them. We were told to come back later and that parents with ID could come to pick up some youth who would be released. ICE officials did not provide any information. Later, we brought two parents, each hoping for word on their sons. Again ICE officials did not give us any information. So we waited.

Eventually, some women and youth were released wearing GPS tracking devices on their ankles to track them until their court appearances. We were told there would be no more releases and that detainees were going to be transferred to Waterloo and held at the Cattle Congress. The parents we brought earlier still had no word on their sons. Their tension, grief and distress increased as buses began to take detainees from the site.

Of the 17 minors arrested, five or six are still in custody. A 16-year-old who was released told me that he kept trying to tell officials his age, but they refused to believe him, cursed at him and made fun of him for being Hispanic. A 17-year-old who was arrested asked me, "I didn't come here to rob people or do bad things. I just came to work, to earn money for my family. Why do people hate us so much?" I had no answer.
The only bright spot in the day was in the generosity of those in the Postville community and throughout Iowa who have made donations and volunteered to help their immigrant sisters and brothers. We spent several hours on Monday evening having family members sign the forms necessary to enable immigration attorneys to see the detainees the next day.

Meanwhile hundreds of men, women, children and babies remained at the church sleeping on the floor and church pews, too frightened to go home. This arrangement continued throughout the week despite our efforts to convince them it was safe to go home.

During the early morning hours on Tuesday a few women were released at varying times for humanitarian reasons and taken back to Postville. One woman who was released me told me it had been her first day at Agriprocessors and she had been only working 15 minutes when the raid began. While in custody she asked to call her family but was told by officials she did not have a right to make a phone call. Seeing this mother reunited with her child brought tears to everyone's eyes. It lifted my spirits, but not for long.

Throughout the week we met with one obstacle after another. For example, on Tuesday, after waiting and negotiating most of the day to see the detainees, the attorneys learned that criminal charges, not immigration charges, would be filed so the immigration lawyers could not see or talk to the detainees. I learned later that Mexican Consulate officials were also there first thing on Tuesday and were denied access for quite a while.

Much time and effort was spent during the week trying to obtain information about the detainees, confirming the immigrants who were detained, the charges filed against them and where they were taken. ICE had set up an 800 number to provide this information but this was very ineffective.

Hundreds of families are torn apart by this raid. In several families, both parents were arrested leaving no one to care for children. In one example, a neighbor took the children in until the mother was released on Wednesday. Even upon her release, ICE officials would not allow her to go to the church where her children were staying. Instead, they took her to her apartment, looked around and, as they were leaving, threatened her not to take a step out of the apartment. If she did, she would never see her children again.

The mother of another family was released while her husband is still detained. Her children, one of which is a U.S. citizen, are upset and frightened. The six year old cries asking to see her daddy. The mother cannot work. There is no income, no way to provide for her children.

The humanitarian impact of this raid is obvious to anyone in Postville. The economic impact will soon be evident. Hundreds of families are now left without income - struggling to figure out how to pay the rent and provide food for their children. Some have thought about canceling their phone service to save money but ICE officials told those with GPS devices they must maintain service to have contact with officials. Other families have decided to move several families into one apartment to save on rent.

Those released need to appear in court - some in Waterloo and in other places around Iowa - but they have no money for transportation, much less for a night's stay somewhere if that is required.

Postville's population before the raids was only 2,300, so the impact on this community will be devastating. It is estimated that the population will decrease by one-third to one-half. And the impact goes beyond Postville. In Waterloo, we are receiving calls from people too scared to go to work. People are losing their jobs and have received their last paycheck. Others are in hiding.

Fear is rampant. I spoke with a Waterloo school official who was concerned about a particular student who had not been in school this week. Her family was too afraid to leave the house after ICE had come knocking at their door.

In Postville, half of the children were absent from school this week. Counselors were brought in to assist the children devastated by the loss of a parent or family member. Later in the week counselors were called back to assist non-immigrant children who were having nightmares worrying that their parents would be taken.

This past week a mother and daughter - both U.S. citizens - were stopped while shopping at Wal-Mart and questioned by ICE officials for an hour and a half.

The tension and fear is not limited to the Hispanic and Latino communities. When driving to Postville this Friday with a car full of donations I received a call about possible checkpoints between Waterloo and Postville. I wondered what might happen to me for delivering the supplies. I suddenly felt like I was in a strange country. I didn't feel free.

The immigration policies and practices of our government are disastrous. The inhumane way these raids are conducted and the negative impact on families and our communities is intolerable. The trauma created is a tremendous injustice.

Perhaps an even greater injustice is the exploitation, physical and sexual abuse by Agriprocessors. Those who are willing to risk so much to put food on their table and try to provide a better life for their children are put in jail and labeled criminals. Yet those who commit crimes of violence are free.

It is with urgency that I call on the government to pass comprehensive immigration reform which includes a pathway to lawful permanent residence and citizenship, meets immigrants' basic needs, encourages family unity and reunification, and addresses the root causes of migration.

It is time to change our immigration policies and practices so that once again we become the nation in which the dignity of all people is paramount and their rights protected

Immigration Raids: Harder on Undocumented workers Immigrants; Easy on Lawbreakers employers.



After the biggest immigration raid in U.S. history, hundreds of workers have been sentenced but not one company official as yet faces any charges — something critics say is typical of a federal government that is tough on employees but easy on owners.

Worker advocates and lawmakers say the fact that nearly 400 workers were arrested in the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville — or more than one-third of the total number of employees — proves that company officials must have known they were hiring illegal immigrants.

Until we enforce our immigration laws equally against both employers and employees who break the law, we will continue to have a problem with immigration," said U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa Democrat whose district borders Postville.

Such raids are designed to get headlines and make it appear that the federal government is cracking down on illegal immigration, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the immigration reform group America's Voice. But he says even those who think enforcement is the answer can't seriously believe the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. can be arrested and deported.

"Even if you wanted to pursue an imbalanced enforcement-first strategy, the only thoughtful way to do it would be to go after employers, make examples of them and try to scare other employers into compliance," he said. "They're not doing that."

The owner of the Postville plant, Aaron Rubashkin, has said that the company is conducting its own investigation "into the circumstances which led to the recent work site enforcement action, and is fully cooperating with the government." He said the company could not respond to specific allegations due to pending legal issues.

Court documents filed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent before the raid at the Postville plant indicate that authorities believed company supervisors were violating a number of federal laws including harboring illegal immigrants. An application and affidavit for search warrant alleged that:

Based on 2007 fourth-quarter payroll reports, about 78 percent of Agriprocessors' 968 workers were using false or fraudulent Social Security numbers in connection with their employment.

Agriprocessors was notified by the Social Security Administration in five separate letters of 500 Social Security number discrepancies for each tax year from 2000 to 2005.

A Department of Transportation investigation found that an Agriprocessors supervisor was forcing workers to buy cars from him and allegedly registered the cars under falsified identities. An investigator found at least 200 cars were bought in this manner.

The Iowa Department of Labor uncovered workplace safety problems including 39 citations since last October. Fines of around $182,000 were reduced Tuesday to $42,750 after the company agreed to correct some of the violations, which included improper storage and handling of hazardous chemicals and inadequate training in the use of respirators and handling of blood-borne pathogens.

Allegations of child labor law violations are under investigation by the state. The investigation was initially halted by the ICE raid but has resumed, said Iowa Workforce Development spokeswoman Kerry Koonce. If confirmed, the violations could be prosecuted as misdemeanors under state law.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration logs show records of incidents that led to five amputations, dozens of reports of broken bones, eye injuries and hearing loss at the plant between 2001 and 2006.

Immigration officials said the 389 arrests at the plant meant it was the largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history. Of those arrested, 297 pleaded guilty and were sentenced. The guilty pleas included use of false identification documents to obtain employment, false use of a Social Security number or cards and unlawful re-entry into the United States.

About 60 of the workers taken into custody were released for humanitarian reasons and do not face criminal charges, while 20 others were detained on immigration violations only and face deportation proceedings, said Bob Teig, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in the Iowa's northern district. Five other defendants did not enter pleas and have cases pending in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The large number of people arrested, coupled with the allegations against Agriprocessors, has led some to conclude that the company is at least as culpable as the workers.

"I'll be interested to see if federal authorities will be bringing any charges against the employer," Braley said in a telephone interview.

Braley has questioned the cost of the Postville raid as well as an operation at Swift & Co. plants in Marshalltown and five other Midwest cities in 2006. Although federal agents arrested about 1,300 workers in raids at the Swift plants, Braley noted that no top company officials were charged.

ICE officials told Braley they didn't have a cost estimate for the Swift raids.

Although it primarily has been Democrats who have questioned why few company officials are charged in immigration raids, the Republican congressman who represents Postville also expressed disappointment about how that operation was handled.

James Carstensen, a spokesman for Rep. Tom Latham, said he views the raid as a blow to families seeking a better life and for the community, which is suffering economically.

"It's a tragedy of an immigration system that is absolutely broken and the tragedy of an enforcement system that is probably not working as effectively as promised by the Bush administration," Carstensen said.

Rep. Timothy Bishop, D-New York, raised concerns about the federal action during a May 20 hearing of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor.

"Is it not reasonable to assume that if over a third of the work force employed at this plant violated labor law in one form or another that management has to have some complicity in those violations?" he asked James Spero, a deputy assistant director for ICE.

Spero answered that he couldn't comment on a potential ongoing investigation but said immigration enforcement at workplaces does include investigations into violations by management and owners.

"The goal for our work site operations is to target and develop cases against the egregious employers who are committing violations," he said.

Spero said investigations of the employers often take more time, and he noted that agents in Postville had search warrants and seized numerous documents from the company.

Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a statement that it targets employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants but "must build work site investigations in stages."

"Developing sufficient evidence against employers requires complex, white-collar crime investigations that can take years to bear fruit," she said.

The agency said it filed criminal charges against more than 90 individuals in company supervisory positions last year. That is out of a total of 863 people who were charged with crimes during the year and 4,000 administrative arrests.

Agriprocessors, established in 1987 when Brooklyn, N.Y., butcher Aaron Rubashkin bought a shuttered meatpacking plant, is now the nation's largest kosher meatpacking facility. The owner's son, Sholom Rubashkin, has been running the Postville operation.
However, the company said in its statement that it was seeking a new chief executive for the Postville operation.
"The best course of action for the company, its employees, the local community and our customers is to bring new leadership to Agriprocessors," Rubashkin said in the statement.

The plant was closed on the day of the raid but resumed operation the next day at a reduced level.

Company officials said they were hiring replacement employees and were working with immigration officials to "help us bolster our compliance efforts to employ only properly documented employees."

GOP HIS PANIC= LATINOS. GET THE LATINOS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

FAMILIES ARE UTTERLY ENGULFED IN TEARS AND VERY FRIGHTENED.

How in the world no one see the Inhumane raids by ICE do to the Dysfunctional and broken Immigration system!!!!!!!!!!

The largest workplace raid in Iowa history Monday resulted in the arrest of more than 300 people and reignited the debate over immigration; Tears families aparts, creating fears within communities and inhumane raids.

As two law enforcement helicopters hovered overhead, dozens of federal agents descended on Agriprocessors Inc., the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse.

The 300 people arrested represent almost one-third of the plant's 968 workers, and federal officials said the number of arrests could increase. The number is three times as many as were arrested in a raid 18 months ago at the Swift plant in Marshalltown.

Months in planning, Monday's raid involved 16 local, state and federal agencies, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They executed search warrants related to criminal activity, as well as a civil search warrant for people believed to be in the United States illegally.

"This is the largest operation of its type ever in Iowa," said Matt M. Dummermuth, U.S. attorney for the Northern District.

Protests in Waterloo

About 200 protesters on Monday evening filled the sidewalk in front of the gates of the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds, where those arrested were being taken by bus.

They chanted "We have rights" and waved signs that said, among other things, "Honk for Human Rights."

Father Nils Hernandez of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Cedar Rapids came to Waterloo after he heard about the raid.

"This is inhumane," he said.

The protesters were faced with a half-dozen people who shouted "Send 'em back," to which the crowd responded, "We have a right to be here, too."

Feds allege rampant ID fraud

A federal search warrant said immigration officials have filed almost 700 complaints about immigration violations and criminal activity by workers at the Postville plant. The activity spans a two-year period, and some workers face multiple allegations.

Federal officials allege that as many as three-fourths of the company's workers at the end of last year were using fraudulent Social Security numbers.

Last November, the search warrant said, ICE agents interviewed a former Agriprocessors supervisor who said some employees were running a methamphetamine lab in the plant and were bringing weapons to work.

Another source alleged worker abuse, officials said in the warrant. In one case, a supervisor covered the eyes of an employee with duct tape and struck him with a meat hook.

The worker, who had entered the country illegally from Guatemala, was not seriously injured. He declined to report the incident for fear of losing his job, the warrant said.

Another plant worker told federal officials that undocumented workers were paid $5 an hour for their first few months before receiving a pay increase to $6 per hour. The minimum wage in Iowa is $7.25 an hour.

Company officials could not be reached for comment. The plant, which produces kosher and nonkosher meats, opened in 1987 when butcher Aaron Rubashkin and about 200 Hasidic Jews from New York took over a defunct meatpacking plant. Hasidic Jews follow strict laws. It is a branch of Orthodox Judaism.

The Jews' arrival turned Postville, a community of 2,273 people on the Allamakee-Clayton county border in northeast Iowa, into one of Iowa's most ethnically diverse.

Rumors of raids elsewhere

Rumors had swirled across eastern Iowa for several days that one or more raids of meat-processing plants were imminent, but federal agents said Monday's action was limited to the Postville plant.

Gov. Chet Culver said he was told of the raid about 10:15 a.m. He appointed a group of state agency officials, led by Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, to help Postville deal with the raid's impact.

The governor said federal officials reassured his staff that those arrested and detained will have their rights protected. He also emphasized the importance of enforcing immigration laws.

"I have said before that I believe it is important that we crack down on illegal immigration," Culver said. "Illegal means illegal, not just those that are crossing the border illegally, but also those who are responsible for helping to make it happen."

State and federal labor officials confirmed Monday that investigations had been under way at the Postville plant for possible violations of labor laws.

The United Foods and Commercial Workers Union, which had been trying to organize Agriprocessors' employees, said it had alerted government investigators that the plant was exploiting underage workers and paying them off the books, said Jill Cashen, a union spokeswoman.

It's unclear whether the union's charges led to Monday's raid. Mark Lauritsen, the union's international vice president, wrote to ICE officials on May 2, asking them to refrain from raiding the Postville plant while the other investigation was under way. ICE officials had no comment on the letter.

Buses depart for Waterloo

Buses, apparently filled with detainees, began leaving Postville at 4 p.m. Monday, headed toward Waterloo. Each bus was escorted by two Iowa State Patrol cars, one in front and one in back.

The plant entrance remained blocked by ICE agents and state troopers.

The National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo will serve as an intake center, said Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman.

The men will be housed at Estel Hall at the Cattle Congress and the women will be taken to local jails, she said.

It's unlikely anyone will remain at the Cattle Congress past Thursday, Gonzalez said. Federal officials have leased the fairgrounds through May 25.

'We are with you!'
'We are with you!'

When the chained gates at the Cattle Congress site opened to admit a bus of detainees at 8:15 p.m., the crowd of about 200 people screamed their support.

Some were in tears as they shouted "We are with you!" and "We are all equal!"

Police looked on during the protest. Waterloo Police Department Lt. M.W. McNamee said the department had protesters move across the street to the sidewalk in front of the fairgrounds.

"You can't be on the property here ... but you can be on the sidewalk," McNamee told the growing number of protesters. "Unfortunately there's not a lot of area where you can be. This is not conducive to have a vigil."

The protest wrapped up just before 10 p.m.

Change in tactics

Immigration officials appeared committed to avoiding some of the criticism that followed the federal raids in December 2006 at six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants across the country, including one in Marshalltown. Those raids resulted in 1,297 arrests, including about 100 in Iowa.

Critics, including former Gov. Tom Vilsack, accused federal officials of violating the workers' Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. Federal agents also were criticized for separating parents from their children.

In Postville, ICE spokesman Harold Ort said that the children of anyone detained would be cared for, and that "their caregiver situation will be addressed.

"They were asked multiple times if they have any sole-caregiver issues or any child-care issues," he said.

Forty Agriprocessors workers were later released, with supervision, "on humanitarian grounds," said Dummermuth, the U.S. attorney.

"They assured us the kids were going to be taken care of," said Postville Mayor Robert Penrod.

Penrod said a majority of townspeople understand the plant's role in the Postville economy, while a small number would cheer the raid.

"There's people who hate the Hispanics, and there's people who don't like the Jews and would like to run them out of town," he said.

Tears at St. Bridget's

Frightened townspeople flocked to St. Bridget's Catholic Church.

"The families (there) are utterly engulfed in tears and are very frightened," said Sister Mary McCauley. "One young boy left school and came here because he knew his parents had been taken."

The raid was the talk of the day at the Yeshiva of Northeast Iowa, a Jewish high school attended by about 50 students, many from out of state.

Students said they worried about the health of the meatpacking plant because it supports their school.

Abi Naparstek, 16, a student from Brooklyn, N.Y., said he was optimistic that the plant would remain open. He said people from the area recognize how vital it is to the economy.
"If it did close, it would be bad for everybody - Jews, non-Jews, everybody," he said.

If the plant closed, the students said, most of the Jews would leave town, because they would have no reason to stay.

Near the Agriprocessors plant, Bruce Stockman, owner of Best Place Auto Repair, leaned on his truck and watched the day's events unfold. Stockman said many of his customers work at the plant, and the raid could hurt his business.

Stockman, who worked briefly at the plant, said townspeople have mixed feelings about the immigrants.

"There's good ones, there's bad ones," he said. "You're going to have that anywhere."

Authorities raid Southern California printer supply company.




LOS ANGELES—More than 100 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a printer supply manufacturer in the San Fernando Valley on Thursday, taking into custody about 120 employees for being in the country illegally and arresting eight on federal criminal charges, authorities said.
The raid at the offices of Micro Solutions Enterprises began around 3:30 p.m., said Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman, who said the basis for the criminal warrant that led to the raid was under seal.
The eight people were arrested for allegedly providing fraudulent information to get their jobs, Kice said.
All of the 120 people taken into custody for illegal immigration status were interviewed for what Kice called "humanitarian issues." About 40, including the elderly and those with children, were released to await a hearing before an immigration judge, Kice said.
Approximately 80 more remained in the custody of immigration officials for potential deportation.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it is offering free legal representation to anyone taken into custody.
"We're very concerned that people who were detained be given the opportunity to meet with a lawyer who can advise them of their rights," said ACLU lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham. "Some of them may be eligible for release on bond."
Arulanantham said ACLU attorneys who rushed to the scene of the raid were not allowed to talk to detainees.
Micro Solutions Enterprises, which manufactures and distributes toner cartridges, inkjets and other printer accessories, is family owned and operates facilities in California, Pennsylvania, Mexico and Canada, according to its Web site.
A message left after hours with the company was not immediately returned

The Border Patrol swoops in on a domestic ferry run.

When Brendan Cowan boarded the 8:05 a.m. ferry at Friday Harbor, Wash., one day late last month, there was a little something extra waiting for him and his fellow passengers at the end of the the route in Anacortes, courtesy of the U.S. Border Patrol.

On that day, all vehicles were channeled through lanes normally reserved for international travelers so that Border Patrol agents could ask if they were U.S. citizens.
Islanders are used to being routed through Customs when they board vessels that had originated in British Columbia. But Cowan's ride on Jan. 24 was a domestic run, and in seven years of island living he had never before encountered it.
"They didn't ask me to produce proof," Cowan recalled, who affirmed he was American, and was then waved through. The agent "called it a 'citizen check.'"
The short-lived checkpoint did not stem from any specific information regarding a threat but, rather, was "part of a comprehensive tactical portfolio," according to Blaine-based Border Patrol spokesperson Joe Giuliano. Anacortes, he said, is a location with "a history of individuals and/or contraband arriving illegally on the islands and using this particular ferry run to further their entry to the mainland."

Giuliano said he has received several media inquiries and a number of calls from citizens regarding the screening. He described all the citizen calls as "neutral or positive."
That may not be a completely accurate description, though, of how citizens actually felt. One islander who asked for anonymity said, "Everyone I've talked to here sees it as a bit shocking and surprising."

In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington said it has received a complaint "from at least one person."
Giuliano said his agency had previously staged similar checkpoints at Anacortes on domestic runs, and that it routinely gives advance notice to state ferry officials.
But Washington State Ferries spokesperson Susan Harris-Huether said the state has no record of the Border Patrol informing them about last month's surprise appearance. They "simply showed up," said Harris-Huether, adding that ferry personnel in Anacortes also told her they had "no record of them having previously done this for domestic traffic — they don't remember this happening before."

That squares with the feedback Cowan sought after he emailed some 20 island buddies who have collectively lived on the island about 350 years. Without exception, no one could recall a similar screening at Anacortes for a domestic sailing, he said.
On the same ferry as Cowan was Patrick Kirby, who has lived on San Juan Island more than 20 years and was likewise surprised by the checkpoint. When asked if he was a U.S. citizen, Kirby recounted, he handed over his passport, and the agent never opened it.

While Cowan and some other islanders consider the Border Patrol's sudden appearance noteworthy, they're not disputing the agency's right to set up such checkpoints.
ACLU spokesman Doug Honig said ACLU lawyers would need to know more about what happened before determining if it was legal. He added, "People who feel they are being unfairly stopped can verbally register a protest about the questioning, and it's usually wise to do so politely."
According to Giuliano:

The courts have long held that such checkpoints, no matter the manner of conveyance involved, are legal and proper so long as some essential conditions are met. Among them are that there must be a nexus to the international border; that they must be on a route that leads from the area of the border; and that they cannot be arbitrary — that is, everyone must be inspected, not just some of the travelers at the whim of the agent.

Still, Giuliano acknowledged that U.S. citizens are not obliged to carry any identification inside the country. Border Patrol agents cannot demand proof of citizenship from ferry passengers, he said, as long as they have "no reason to doubt the veracity" of their statements that they are U.S. citizens.
Asked what criteria Border Patrol agents use to determine whether a passenger's answer is credible, Giuliano said:

Agents use a combination of training-reinforced intuition, an institutional knowledge of their job and work environment, and a recognition of specific behaviors. Unfortunately, I cannot provide more specific information for publication as this would provide a tactical advantage to those of your readers who may be inclined to circumvent the law.
No one was arrested, and no contraband was seized as a result of last month's surprise screening at Anacortes, Giuliano said. He added that such checks "are intermittent and will continue. We do not publicize the precise times and dates because doing so would work to the advantage of those seeking to circumvent the law. The frequency with which we run ferry checks is determined primarily by operational need, resource availability and prioritization within our tactical portfolio."

Why we still not believe ICE is Targeting Latinos specially Mexicans?.
Targeting Undocumented immigrants. Immigration sweeps fuel debate about racial profiling

By Cass Friedman
Times-News writer

Alicia Martinez bawled outside the Target store like a bride who wakes up to rain on her wedding day.

For her, the rain came at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, three weeks after she married Elias Aguillar-Martinez.

Martinez said her husband was taken by U.S. Border Patrol agents in what the department would later say was one of the region's largest immigration sweeps in recent history. She watched as two uniformed agents snatched her husband, an illegal immigrant who works full-time in a dairy. He was later deported to Juarez, Mexico.

"They thought he looked like what an illegal immigrant looks like," Martinez said. "They said if you don't sit down and shut up we can seize your jointly owned vehicle. I'm an American citizen. I was born here - in San Diego, California."

Border Patrol officials say agents arrested only 108 illegal immigrants in a narrowly tailored operation to disrupt human smuggling through local Greyhound buses.

The operation, however, ended almost as quickly as it began.

Alex Harrington, a Border Patrol spokesman in Havre, Mont., said protests and complaints from Twin Falls have prompted officials in Washington, D.C. to rethink further widespread sweeps in south-central Idaho.

"This operation has definitely stirred up a lot of rumors, a lot of activities," said Harrington. "It's probably not going to be done again - probably not. We were only told to hit the bus lines. Stay on them. These guys (Twin Falls-based Border Patrol agents), they have families. They do what they're told."

But the fallout of the federal arrests has alarmed the regional Latino community and stirred questions about the third-rail of immigration law enforcement - racial profiling.

"The sole reason they stopped him was his dark skin color," Martinez said of her husband's arrest. "They are targeting these people."

Finding their voice

Two days after Aguillar-Martinez's arrest, Eric Valencia, a Washington state native now studying at the College of Southern Idaho to become a paramedic, was approached by two agents who scrutinized his documents outside Ridley's market in Jerome.

Agents questioned his valid Idaho driver's license, but let him go after 30 minutes.

Valencia says he has considered suing the Border Patrol for what he considers racial profiling. He says he must have been singled out because of his race - and the fact that his wardrobe that day included a jacket with a Mexican national emblem.

Harrington declined comment on Valencia's case.

Though Valencia was only inconvenienced, Latinos in the area see it as confirmation that anyone in a public place is subject to questioning by Border Patrol agents.

Harrington vehemently denies that agents engage in any racial profiling.

The targeted operation on bus lines fell well within the Border Patrol's written mission, which "contemplates denial of transportation modes used to move or transit aliens, wherever they are located in the U.S., in order to interdict illegal immigrants before they reach their ultimate destinations in the interior of America."

"I can safely say the agents conducted their operations only around the bus lines because if they were not, they could face disciplinary actions," Harrington said, adding that the agents have assured him they did nothing more than follow orders.

Members of the Latino population simply don't buy the agency's rationale. They say that the Border Patrol's description of a targeted strike at bus lines doesn't match the reality seen by Latinos - American citizens or not.

Their reaction to the unprecedented sweep has been equally unprecedented level of community action. Whether through open protests at Twin Falls retailers, or by organizing in community action groups, the Latino community discovered a voice and growing activism among legal immigrants.

A question of profiling

Karla Belveal, who organized a small protest against the immigration sweep in the parking lot at WinCo Foods on Blue Lakes Boulevard, said she can relate to Valencia's story.

Belveal, now 31, came to the U.S. as a war refugee from Nicaragua. She sees racial profiling as something akin to the injustices she had escaped.

"I have had to fight for my freedom here. But now, because of the racial profiling, I am being persecuted again," said Belveal. "I don't want to be quiet. I want people to come out and not be afraid. I don't want my children to be picked out of a crowd just because of my color. I have been in Idaho for 19 years, and for me to have to carry my citizenship documents is ridiculous."

Dick Salvadore disagrees.

Salvadore, who emigrated from Naples, Italy, to settle in Buhl, says a little questioning is a small price to pay for border security.

"It's going to happen," Salvadore said. "I carry my Social Security card. It's just real unfortunate. But it's just the only way that it can be done. They should have their documents with them."

He says, however, that agents should focus on why undocumented workers flock to Idaho - the fact that businesses in the region are willing to employ them. He has first-hand experience with that issue: After immigration agents cited him for employing illegal immigrants at his Nevada car wash, he changed his perspective and swore never to hire illegal workers again.

Twin Falls Planning and Zoning board member Gerardo Munoz, who was just elected chairman of a citizen committee formed in response to the sweeps, said his goal is improving interracial diplomacy. And he says launching protests like the one in front of WinCo won't help him reach that end.

Munoz says discrimination is nothing new and the recent raids simply provide a catalyst for greater activism.

"Border Patrol says it's very good at picking out people on their demeanor and the way they dress," he said. "And I am saying I don't care how good you are. You are already establishing a profile when you say I am really good at picking out somebody."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lorie Dankers in Seattle said by using their "knowledge, their training and experience," agents can appropriately question people on "reasonable suspicions."

"It's just not profiling," she said.

Harrington said no records exist for how often agents at the Twin Falls Border Patrol substation arrest an illegal immigrant, and how often they get it wrong.

Why being to obsessed to deported Hispanics specially Mexicans? Why?. I had never heard someone from other Nationality facing deportation or was deported and put their names on Newspapers main pages. Why? Mexicans heading into a black hole where the power of vitriol fuels a lust to target a specific group of people

Student protest after deportation leads to new policy.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Tucson Police Department and the Tucson Unified School District no longer will summon Border Patrol officials or immigration authorities to school grounds, officials said.

Tuesday's announcement came hours after dozens of students marched against a family's deportation that played out at two Tucson schools.

Nearly 100 students assembled outside Catalina Magnet High School early Tuesday and marched to the Federal Building and eventually Tucson police headquarters, protesting the process that allowed U.S. Border Patrol agents onto their campus.

The student march was sparked by last week's deportation of a high school student and his family after school officials found a small amount of marijuana in the boy's backpack. The officials called police, who notified the Border Patrol after learning that his family was living here illegally. The family's younger son, attending middle school also was pulled from class and deported.

"We're mad because immigration came into our school," said 16-year-old Mario Portillo, one of the protesting students. "The kid broke the law. He was wrong. This isn't about him."

The effect has been chilling, one of Portillo's classmates said.

"Some students aren't going to school because they don't feel safe," said Lizeth Grijalva, 17. "We can't have this at schools."

TUSD Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer and Assistant Police Chief Roberto Villasenor met late Tuesday morning to discuss the incident.

"They came to an agreement that what happened on Thursday will not happen on a campus again," said Chyrl Hill Lander, a TUSD spokeswoman. "The implementation of immigration law will not be done on school grounds."

Tucson police officers no longer will call Border Patrol agents to schools or churches, Villasenor said. However, police will provide information to the federal government that will allow those officials to follow up on the investigation, he said. The change is based on Border Patrol policy not to respond to schools or churches unless agents are asked to do so.

Under the new policy, Border Patrol agents never would have been called to the high school, although the family of the boy who allegedly brought pot to campus still may have been deported.

Amy Rezzonico, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Education, said she had not heard of deportations resulting from an on-campus incident. School officials are forbidden to ask about a student's legal status, she noted.

"We can't ask. That is a federal law," she said. "We educate students regardless."

Warren Allison, TUSD's school-safety coordinator, said school officials had to contact police because the student was caught with drugs.

"By state law, if you have contraband, we have to call the police," he said. "After that, it's on them."

As students gathered in front of Police Department headquarters, Pfeuffer relayed the same message.

Grijalva, a senior, said the students wanted an explanation from police about why Border Patrol agents were notified this time.

Villasenor said the arresting officer learned through the course of the investigation that the boy and his family were in the country illegally.

"We are obligated to notify the proper authorities when we become aware of criminal activity," he said.

When some of the protesting students learned of the new policy, they said they were glad it barred immigration officials from schools, but they remained concerned about local police enforcing federal immigration laws.

"I still think the Police Department shouldn't be allowed to ask someone about their citizenship," Portillo said. "That's not their job. Their job is to keep us safe and ensure our rights."

The students said they began organizing the march late last week by sending each other text messages and e-mails.

As the students marched through the streets Tuesday, they chanted, "Si se puede" and "We are students, not criminals," and carried signs that read: "Migra out of our schools."

Villasenor and Pfeuffer both acknowledged that the students had protested peacefully and sparked an insightful discussion. Pfeuffer also told the students that it's important to have these kinds of talks in a school setting, not just during protests.

TUSD's regular absence policy will apply to students who took part in the nearly five-mile march, Lander said. A student with a parent's note or whose parents called to explain the absence will be excused.