Local activists protest Iowa immigration raid, help organize relief effort
Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 8:12 am
- 8 Comments
Late Friday afternoon, a crowd assembled on a vibrant street corner in Minneapolis to protest the recent immigration raid of the Agriprocessor, Inc., meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa — which they say has earned little play in Minnesota media outlets even though Monday’s historic roundup of nearly 400 undocumented workers surpassed all others across the country.
To heighten public awareness of the Postville events, a mere three-hour drive from the Twin Cities, activists including a number of Latino community members demonstrated on Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue, an area that many Latinos call home.
They pounded on drums and carried signs, chanting, “Stop the raids, stop the racism!” in English and Spanish; cars honked as they passed by. One of the rally’s organizers, Erika Zurawski, who represented a coalition of immigrant supporters, characterized the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Iowa, which had been in the works for months, as “an attack against immigrants and workers” that seemed to take aim at Guatemalans. (Out of the 389 people held following the raid, 300 are from Guatemala, she pointed out. Others originated from Mexico, Ukraine and Israel.) “I’m here today to stand in solidarity with the workers. I oppose what happened in Iowa,” she said, firing up the troops who stood ready to chant together on the sidewalk. By way of legislation and other key measures, she said, “Minnesota should prohibit this and stand up and fight back.”
Continued: Click “Read More”She also told the group that they could do something right away, to help the cause — by donating money, diapers or other household items — to go to detainees’ families, many of which are now without a breadwinner.
Rafael Espinoza, a labor representative for United Food and Commercial Workers Union (Local 79) in South St. Paul, said the whole ordeal diminished the union’s organizing capacity to improve working conditions at the plant, which had been underway for two years. That affects the union, its membership and its influence in similar endeavors. It is troubling that “everyone is looking at how to deport his or her neighbor,” he said. Instead, people should be focusing on how “immigrants can help build up the country’s economy.”
Ulises Duay, a Latino who participated in the rally, agreed with Espinoza. “I can work in a factory or I can do more than that,” said Duay, who recently lost his house, job and car. Further, “I would worry I would lose my son if ICE came to my house.”
One volunteer at the protest, Conor Hatch, a student in ethnic studies at Metro State University, said, “I saw newspapers online from Iowa [about the raid] and people’s comments were racist and negative against immigrants. I feel people should all have the same rights.”
Due process?
The vast majority of those who were arrested Monday are now also facing criminal charges on top of deportation. Whether the company’s proprietors will also be prosecuted for criminal offenses remains to be seen.
Of the detainees, 306 workers have received criminal charges according to the latest tally from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Many of the workers are being charged with one or more of the following: identity theft, falsifying a Social Security number, illegal reentry into the country and fraudulent use of identification paperwork.
Those not charged criminally continue to undergo the regular deportation process. Some people, including juveniles, were released on humanitarian grounds.
The Iowa branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has challenged whether the immigrants have gotten proper access to an attorney. Additionally, some immigration attorneys are reportedly spreading the word that citizens should contact the U.S. Attorney’s office to ensure detainees get adequate legal representation before making any deals with public defenders.
Despite those concerns, ICE spokesperson Tim Counts said everyone who has been arrested has been “afforded due process at all steps,” including ample access to attorneys. “The operation was conducted with professionalism and full compliance with our policies and procedures, as are all of our operations,” Counts said.
The aftermath
Many people who hoped to track down loved ones poured into Waterloo where most of the detainees were taken. (The National Cattle Congress Fairgrounds is serving as a temporary federal court venue through next week. Those who have hit with criminal charges are being transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Office.)
Many other immigrants who were too afraid to go home or who were estranged from a spouse or parent arrived in the droves at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church in Postville. All week, about 400 people have been put up in the church and parish hall, according to Sister Mary McCauley, who works at the church. She and other members of the pastoral team began to mobilize resources when they started hearing rumors last week about a possible raid. “On Monday, when we saw helicopters flying over the plant, we knew they weren’t just rumors. We had no time to organize. We were in crisis mode,” she said.
Now, they’ve shifted gears. “To the best of our knowledge, ICE is out of Postville. They’ll probably be safe at their apartments. We have to mobilize them back into the normal, orderly way of living.”
But some people argue that it won’t be easy to go back to the way things were before. Amalia Anderson is project director for the Minnesota-based Main Street Project, which works to revitalize rural communities. She was in Postville this week to help with the relief effort and said the story is all-too familiar. “Rural areas are the battleground for the immigration debate. This is huge. Raids affect communities. This will be felt for years in economic costs, trauma, distrust and community-building.”
Minnesota Monitor’s sister site, Iowa Independent, has ongoing coverage of the immigration raid and its aftermath. In its most recent story, Lynda Waddington writes that Congressman Bruce Braley wants to know whether federal agencies communicated prior to the May 12 raid on Agriprocessors in Postville and whether investigations previously launched by the Iowa Department of Labor Services are continuing.
8 Comments
Comment posted May 17, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
The effect of illegal immigration The effect of illegal immigration: Overpopulation, congestion, urban sprawl, pollution, environmental damage, crumbling infrastructure due to overuse, diminishing resources, diseases, lack of affordable housing, depressed wages, an underground non-taxpaying economy, fraudulent documents, identity thief, tax evasion, soaring crime rates, increased tax burdens, overcrowded schools, uneducated children, overcrowded prisons, an overburdened health care system with the closure of hospitals, the balkanization of our communities, a large and growing population with loyalty to other nations and an onslaught on our national culture and identity leading to an overall decline in our quality of life.
Where are the politicians who will stand up and stop the transformation of the United States into a third world country? We must understand that we will be called the most vicious names in our fight to preserve our culture and our nation It is worth the price.
Comment posted May 17, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
Illegal Immigration IS A CRIME: 8 U.S.C. 1325 = illegal entry.
” (a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.”
Comment posted May 17, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
Ilegal is Illegal First, let us remember the “illegal” part of being an illegal immigrant. Most Americans don’t seem to have problems with legal immigration, however it only seems fair to question the value of any additions to our country who already show no regard for it’s laws upon arrival.
Second, it seems far too easily forgotten that one must be an U.S. citizen in order to warrant the rights afforded to a citizen. That should be the end of discussion.
Third, legal immigrants working alongside native born citizens have made this country what it is. We have thrived on the contributions of immigrants and will usually need them, though to varying degrees, throughout most sectors of our economy. The problem is that we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to those who enter illegally, ignore our laws and seek to subvert our culture and national values. We welcome those who follow the rules, learn the English language, and respect our sovereignty. As illegal immigrants, it is not only offensive but also ridiculous to ask for rights, which they have not earned nor are entitled to.
Let’s secure our borders by building the fence so we have an effective and controlled immigration system at the same time as we enforce our currently existing immigration laws. During this interval we encourage illegals to depart (attrition through enforcement). Once our borders are secured and we have a grip on a functional system of immigration, we move against those illegals that have refused to leave. We should never ever grant amnesty.
We tried ‘comprehensive immigration reform’ in 1986. We gave amnesty to 3 million illegal aliens in exchange for the government promising to secure the borders, conduct workplace enforcement and enforce immigration law. It didn’t work because the government lied and did nothing other than process the amnesty paperwork. Due to that folly, we now have 20 Million or more illegal aliens here demanding amnesty.
Don’t you think it is far beyond time that we engage in Comprehensive Immigration ENFORCEMENT rather than Comprehensive Immigration Reform?
Comment posted May 18, 2008 @ 7:45 am
Invest your savings in fencing and barbed wire; the rising commodity? First they raided the ‘least of these’ and nobody cried out. Next?…
We round them up like cattle and consider them thowaways. We build fences to keep out what some call “undesirables” using faceless words like”illegal immigrants” even as we use and abuse them?
And all those protected borders; who are we walling out, or walling in? That is the greater terror; the growing isolation of a nation dominated by fear, hate; selective injustice? Who then are we walling in and who is left behind so desperately caged in? Will we find a new terrorism among ourselves, once we secure our borders? For it is the nature of the beast; fear and hate always demand a scapegoat.
Possibly we are not protecting a nation in our desperation to protect our insecurities. We will have created a zoo and with a deep sigh of relief feel safe…as the the only occupants of this caged culture? Now we will have the opportunity to choose our identities among the tigers, snakes,, monkeys, baboons?
But wait a moment. Think again. Isn’t that a new terror coming down the road; for fear and hate and its cohort, terrorism, never go away. It’s a fungus among us, once it begins. From our respective cages we may be screaming again excercising our self-indulgent worries; fear, hate. The new terror could be our own handlers.
Comment posted May 17, 2008 @ 8:15 am
The effect of illegal immigration The effect of illegal immigration: Overpopulation, congestion, urban sprawl, pollution, environmental damage, crumbling infrastructure due to overuse, diminishing resources, diseases, lack of affordable housing, depressed wages, an underground non-taxpaying economy, fraudulent documents, identity thief, tax evasion, soaring crime rates, increased tax burdens, overcrowded schools, uneducated children, overcrowded prisons, an overburdened health care system with the closure of hospitals, the balkanization of our communities, a large and growing population with loyalty to other nations and an onslaught on our national culture and identity leading to an overall decline in our quality of life.
Where are the politicians who will stand up and stop the transformation of the United States into a third world country? We must understand that we will be called the most vicious names in our fight to preserve our culture and our nation It is worth the price.
Comment posted May 17, 2008 @ 8:18 am
Illegal Immigration IS A CRIME: 8 U.S.C. 1325 = illegal entry.
” (a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.”
Comment posted May 17, 2008 @ 8:20 am
Ilegal is Illegal First, let us remember the “illegal” part of being an illegal immigrant. Most Americans don't seem to have problems with legal immigration, however it only seems fair to question the value of any additions to our country who already show no regard for it's laws upon arrival.
Second, it seems far too easily forgotten that one must be an U.S. citizen in order to warrant the rights afforded to a citizen. That should be the end of discussion.
Third, legal immigrants working alongside native born citizens have made this country what it is. We have thrived on the contributions of immigrants and will usually need them, though to varying degrees, throughout most sectors of our economy. The problem is that we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to those who enter illegally, ignore our laws and seek to subvert our culture and national values. We welcome those who follow the rules, learn the English language, and respect our sovereignty. As illegal immigrants, it is not only offensive but also ridiculous to ask for rights, which they have not earned nor are entitled to.
Let's secure our borders by building the fence so we have an effective and controlled immigration system at the same time as we enforce our currently existing immigration laws. During this interval we encourage illegals to depart (attrition through enforcement). Once our borders are secured and we have a grip on a functional system of immigration, we move against those illegals that have refused to leave. We should never ever grant amnesty.
We tried 'comprehensive immigration reform' in 1986. We gave amnesty to 3 million illegal aliens in exchange for the government promising to secure the borders, conduct workplace enforcement and enforce immigration law. It didn't work because the government lied and did nothing other than process the amnesty paperwork. Due to that folly, we now have 20 Million or more illegal aliens here demanding amnesty.
Don't you think it is far beyond time that we engage in Comprehensive Immigration ENFORCEMENT rather than Comprehensive Immigration Reform?
Comment posted May 18, 2008 @ 2:45 am
Invest your savings in fencing and barbed wire; the rising commodity? First they raided the 'least of these' and nobody cried out. Next?…
We round them up like cattle and consider them thowaways. We build fences to keep out what some call “undesirables” using faceless words like”illegal immigrants” even as we use and abuse them?
And all those protected borders; who are we walling out, or walling in? That is the greater terror; the growing isolation of a nation dominated by fear, hate; selective injustice? Who then are we walling in and who is left behind so desperately caged in? Will we find a new terrorism among ourselves, once we secure our borders? For it is the nature of the beast; fear and hate always demand a scapegoat.
Possibly we are not protecting a nation in our desperation to protect our insecurities. We will have created a zoo and with a deep sigh of relief feel safe…as the the only occupants of this caged culture? Now we will have the opportunity to choose our identities among the tigers, snakes,, monkeys, baboons?
But wait a moment. Think again. Isn't that a new terror coming down the road; for fear and hate and its cohort, terrorism, never go away. It's a fungus among us, once it begins. From our respective cages we may be screaming again excercising our self-indulgent worries; fear, hate. The new terror could be our own handlers.
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