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  1. #1
    Senior Member Bulldogger's Avatar
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    400 IA's Hiding in Catholic Church in Postville



    Immigration raid: Town's Hispanics shutter businesses, scatter

    Postville, Ia. - The phone calls started at 5 a.m. They carried the same message:

    Immigration was coming.

    Paul Real, a lay pastor at the Ministerio Hispano, said his phone was ringing off the hook.

    "Calls have been flying around," he said Monday morning. "There are rumors everywhere."

    Twelve hours later, Hispanic businesses in downtown Postville were shuttered. Locks held the door at El Sabor Latino grocery store and restaurant. Bowls of chips and salsa were abandoned along with a half-empty bottle of Coke.
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    At the Postville Bakery and Restaurant - which also goes by La Panederia y Pasteleria - a sign in the doorway said, "We will be closed at 11 a.m. today."

    The Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant scattered the Hispanics of Postville. About 400 found their way to St. Bridget's Catholic Church, waiting for information. Some filled out G-28 forms that allow a lawyer to represent their detained children or minors in their care.

    A woman who would identify herself only as Judy said she and her husband work at Agriprocessors. The last time she saw him was before his shift Monday, about 5:30 a.m.

    "No, I don't know where he is," she said in Spanish.

    Judy said she and her husband came from Mexico illegally. Like many others at St. Bridget's, they regard the church as a haven from law enforcement.

    Asked whether the church would indeed be a safe place, Sister Mary McCauley of St. Bridget's said, "That is our belief and hope."

    "It's a place to get family convened," she said.

    The Postville Community School District assembled all its Hispanic students to ensure they each had a parent or caregiver at home.

    Superintendent David Strudhoff said those whose parents could be located would be allowed to go home. For the rest, elementary and middle-schoolers were paired with high school students and separated into groups.

    Sitting on the floor, surrounded by 12 children, a counselor who declined to be identified tried to determine which children needed to be sent home.

    "What's your name? Where do you need to go?" she asked one. To another, "You're safe at the church."

    By Monday night, all of the kids at the church had been paired with parents or caregivers.

    Care workers brought fruit juice, diapers, Cheetos and animal crackers to St. Bridget's. Alma Gonzalez's 2-year-old, Cristan, munched happily on a plate stocked high with chips.

    "We don't know anything right now," she said.

    Gonzalez said her husband works on a farm in Monona. She went to the church because she came to this country illegally from Guatemala and thought St. Bridget's would be safe.

    Eight months pregnant, she's due to have a girl in June.

    Standing outside the Agriprocessors plant, Adolfo Calderon said he tried to put himself in the shoes of someone here illegally.

    He has friends who work at the plant, he said, most of whom are in America legally, but he feared for the families who might be separated.

    "They shouldn't do this," Calderon said. "I understand it's a legal (issue) and they're trying to do their job, but what happens to these poor families?"

    Adolfo Calderon, 15, said his father manages apartments in the town. With the raid, those apartments could be cleared out and his father could be put out of business.

    Hidie Roach, a teller at Citizens State Bank in Postville, said the raid gives the town a bad name.

    The town needs the packing plant, Roach said. "I think a lot of people will leave."

    At St. Bridget's on Monday night, Real, the lay pastor, fielded calls, answered questions and handed out pamphlets advising immigrants of their rights while trying to keep about 400 people clothed, sheltered and fed.

    His wife, holding the phone to her ear, said a caller was offering food. Did they need it?

    Real, without looking up from his desk, answered quickly.

    "Say yes."

    http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/p ... /805130405

  2. #2
    Senior Member miguelina's Avatar
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    "They shouldn't do this," Calderon said. "I understand it's a legal (issue) and they're trying to do their job, but what happens to these poor families?"
    They know the risks when they snuck in illegally. Having children born in the US should not and will not absolve them. They did it to themselves and need to go home!
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
    "

  3. #3
    Senior Member MadInChicago's Avatar
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    "Cry Me a River!"

    Just make the river be the Rio Grand as they are crossing it "South"!
    <div>&ldquo;There is no longer any Left or Right, there is only Tyranny or Liberty &rdquo;</div>

  4. #4
    Senior Member Dixie's Avatar
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    They knew the raid was coming the Friday before it occured, so said Sister Mary McCauley of Postville. They have probably been moving into the church since then.

    http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-115498.html

    ICE has already said that the chruch wall will not protect illegal aliens from deportation.

    Dixie
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    Senior Member misterbill's Avatar
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    arrest the priest--

    arrest the priest--arrest sister mccauley--deport the illegals!!! NOW!!!

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