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Five-day sweep targets illegal immigrants
9 in Del. nabbed; more being sought
By SUMMER HARLOW, The News Journal
Posted Thursday, September 21, 2006
Nine fugitive illegal immigrants living in northern Delaware were arrested as part of a five-day regional immigration sweep that ended Wednesday morning.

The Delaware arrests were "bleed-over" from an operation that targeted Pennsylvania, and in all resulted in 115 arrests of fugitives from 28 countries, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Wednesday.

All those arrested in Delaware were in the New Castle or Wilmington areas. At least one had prior criminal convictions. All violated previous deportation orders.

"These fugitive aliens have had their day in court, and they've failed to comply," said immigration spokesman Marc Raimondi. "The law has to be enforced, and these teams are restoring integrity to the immigration system."

So far this year, immigration officials have made more than 23,000 arrests nationwide. The Philadelphia-based immigration team -- whose jurisdiction includes Delaware -- has made more than 700 arrests this year.

Raimondi said he couldn't say for sure how many have been deported or how many fugitives still are being sought.

"I don't know how many more we're looking for, but we've certainly not exhausted our list of fugitive aliens in Delaware," Raimondi said.

Word of the latest round of arrests came as immigration officials landed in the town of Elsmere, which has found itself in the spotlight for enforcing a law that critics deride as racial profiling.

Last week, police began ticketing cars with out-of-state license plates owned by people who have been in Delaware for more than 60 days. Many of the first tickets written were at Fenwick Park Apartments; the majority of residents there are Latino.

Wednesday morning, two cars bearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement logos drove through the Fenwick complex's parking lots, although officers never left their cars, said Margaret Quijano, property manager.

Raimondi said he was unaware of an immigration investigation at the apartment complex.

Drawing a distinction

Daniel, an undocumented immigrant who wouldn't provide his last name, said he watched the cars from his apartment window for an hour, worried about what would happen next.

"Sadly, all of us have something to fear, because we don't have documents," Daniel, who moved from Mexico in 2001, said in Spanish.

"But it's not fair to work, building something for five years, and then in two or three hours to lose it all. We just want to have a better life, a better future for our family."

Arturo, also an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who also did not provide his last name, said that like many, he didn't have the money to pay for a work visa to come to the United States legally.

"We have to come here first so we can work and earn the money, and then start going through the process to get our documents," Arturo, who lives in Fenwick with his wife and 3-month-old daughter, said in Spanish. "I didn't come here to do bad things, but on the contrary I came here to help by working hard."

Arturo and other Fenwick tenants emphasized that, other than their lack of documents, they follow the law.

Criminal convicts targeted

Raimondi said many of those arrested in the immigration sweep had criminal records.

He cited LeRoy Rose, an undocumented Jamaican immigrant living in New Castle County who was convicted of drugs and weapons charges, aggravated assault, shoplifting and fraud. Rose had been avoiding deportation since 2004, Raimondi said.

"His criminal convictions are what made him eligible for removal," Raimondi said. "Now we'll assist him in complying with the removal order. ... His appeals are up, and he'll be returned to Jamaica."

Not all of those arrested had prior criminal convictions, though, Raimondi said.

"Their crimes were that they were here illegally and they failed to comply with an order of removal," he said.

Serafina Youngdahl Lombardi, representative for the Kaolin Workers Union of Chester County, Pa., mushroom farm workers, said she had heard of one man who was arrested even though immigration officials were seeking his brother, who had a criminal record.

"There's a difference when you have a criminal record than if you're just here working," she said.

Del. lawmakers respond

The office of Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., released a statement saying there is no doubt that illegal immigration is a "problem."

"As part of our strategy to address this issue, we need good enforcement of the laws on the books," the statement said.

Even with Wednesday's arrests, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said in a statement the Bush administration "has done a dismal job enforcing many of the immigration laws on the books, as evidenced by the 10,000 or so illegal immigrants who enter this country on a weekly basis."

"Illegal immigration is a serious problem and Congress should make it a top priority to adopt a tough and smart immigration reform package that would beef up border security and find ways to better enforce our immigration laws," it said.

Push for changes to law

Zaida Guajardo, executive director of La Esperanza, a Georgetown agency assisting Hispanic immigrants, said she favors immigration reform that would allow undocumented immigrants who have been working, paying taxes and building a life in the United States to stay.

Criminals, though, are another matter.

"If they're criminals, no matter their legal status, they should be arrested and tried," Guajardo said.

The sweep that ended Wednesday was part of the nationwide Return to Sender operation that has netted more than 12,000 arrests since it began in late May, Raimondi said.

While this effort was aimed at fugitive illegal immigrants, in recent months officers also have gone after businesses for employing undocumented workers.

In August, for example, 34 undocumented immigrants working at the Fortistar Hydroponic Tomato Greenhouse in North Tonawanda, N.Y., were arrested.

And in July, employers in Kentucky, Arkansas and Ohio were charged with employing undocumented immigrants.

Immigration officers have not raided any Delaware businesses recently, however, Raimondi said.