Thread: Arlandria rocked by raid, ICE responds

Posted at 04:35 AM ET, 07/29/2011

Arlandria rocked by raid, ICE responds

By Tom Jackman

Without warning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents jumped out of a van on Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria earlier this month, and snatched about a half-dozen men. The raid shocked the largely Hispanic neighborhood, also known as Chirilagua, and merchants told The Alexandria Times this week that the arrests have caused a panic that severely damaged their businesses.

Elena Flores, the mother of one of the arrested men, said her son was a painter with no criminal record. Her son, Herlin Flores, 31, and nephew, Erick Carbajal, 21, were both arrested and held in ICE custody. “My son was basically my support system for me and my daughter,â€

[quote]Now that the rent and the bills are coming, and are high, I don’t know what to do.â€

[quote]Elena Flores, the mother of one of the arrested men, said her son was a painter with no criminal record. Her son, Herlin Flores, 31, and nephew, Erick Carbajal, 21, were both arrested and held in ICE custody. “My son was basically my support system for me and my daughter,â€

"...and merchants told The Alexandria Times this week that the arrests have caused a panic that severely damaged their businesses. As in scared the illegal workers away or the illegals buying stuff? Either way, too damned bad! This is America and illegals don't belong here!!

“My son was basically my support system for me and my daughter,â€

Elena Flores, your son and nephew were hanging out on the corner with drug dealers. That doesn't sound like they are earning money as painters. Good work ICE!

Dixie

Nonprofits teaching immigrants how to handle ICE raids


By:Liz Essley | Examiner Staff Writer | 07/30/11 8:05 PM.

A nonprofit is using an Alexandria festival this Sunday to give Hispanics a crash course in immigration enforcement law.

Tenants and Workers United plans to turn off the music at the Arlandria Chrilagua festival for 10 minutes to teach residents about search warrants, the right to a lawyer and what they can do when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shows up at the door. The lesson was planned after an ICE raid shocked the community.

ICE officials arrested Herlin Flores, 31, and Erick Carbajal, 21 -- both natives of Honduras -- outside Lillian's restaurant in the Arlandria neighborhood July 14.

Elena Flores, mother of Herlin, said her son was chatting with others outside the restaurant after a soccer game when ICE officials in a van pulled up and asked for his papers. Now he sits in a detention center in Farmville, Va.

ICE officials said Flores and Carbajal were arrested as part of Operation Community Shield, which teams up with local law enforcement to target known gang members. Since the operation began in 2005, ICE has arrested 22,000 gang members and associates, including 250 gang leaders.

Flores denied her son was in a gang and said ICE was targeting innocent Hispanics.

ICE spokeswoman Cori Bassett said the agency was focused on "criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, not sweeps or raids to target undocumented immigrants indiscriminately."

Some immigrant residents won't be showing up to hear the nonprofit's presentation at the festival. Flores said her neighbors are scared to go out their front doors for fear of being picked up by immigration officials.

"Some people are saying they're not going to come. They're afraid," said Esteban Garces, spokesman for Tenants and Workers United.

Immigration is on its way to becoming a hot-button issue in Annandale as well. ICE officials warned the unaccredited University of Northern Virginia on Thursday that it could lose its ability to enroll foreign students, who make up most of the student body.

The warning follows an investigation by the Chronicle of Higher Education, which reported that the school used visa loopholes to admit foreign students.

The school is still open and has 30 days to rebut ICE's allegations.

http://oneoldvet.com/

http://washingtonexaminer.com

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

University of Northern Virginia raided by ICE

Agency says it could withdraw the school’s authorization to admit foreign students

by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer



Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a small Annandale college Thursday, seizing computer equipment, hardware and paper documents.

The University of Northern Virginia, 7601 Little River Turnpike, serves about 2,000 students. The school was accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools in 2003 but its accreditation was revoked in 2008, according to ACICS.

The school has many foreign students who entered the United States on education visas to attend the university, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

ICE has threatened to withdraw the school’s authorization to admit foreign students and has made allegations that the school may be in violation of ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program guidelines, said Cori Bassett, an ICE spokeswoman.

“Officials from ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program served UNVA with a notice of intent to withdraw UNVA’s authorization to admit foreign students,â€