Mendota takes anti-raid stance; Fresno balks

By RAY ESTRADA / Vida En El Valle
(Published Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 03:51PM)

The Mendota City Council unanimously approved a resolution last week decrying recent immigration raids, but it refused to make the community a "refuge" or call it a place where a "majority" of undocumented workers live.

However, the same day the Fresno City Council deadlocked on a similar resolution brought forth by Mayor Alan Autry. A split Fresno council March 20 rejected Autry's pitch for a resolution that would have condemned the sweeps and labeled them a violation of civil rights.

Several days later, Mendota Mayor Robert Silva called the Fresno council's vote "sad."

"It's a symbolic thing," he said.

Silva said mayors from Orange Cove, San Joaquín and Sanger are interested in similar resolutions. And, Silva said, the resolution will be discussed at the Fresno County Council of Governments meeting this week.

On March 20, the crowd in the packed Mendota council chambers clapped and shouted, "Sí se pudo," (Yes, we did it). Many of the people held signs that read in English and Spanish, "No human being is illegal." The crowd spilled outside City Hall, where 100 people waited to hear the council's decision.

With its population of about 9,000, Mendota is the first city in the San Joaquín Valley to approve a resolution condemning the recent immigration raids. The council delayed the proposal March 16 after the Fresno mayor criticized the federal immigration sweeps.

At last week's meeting, Mendota Councilman Joseph Riofrío said, "I'm elated."

Riofrío, a market owner, was the main proponent behind the resolution. The councilman initially wanted the resolution to declare Mendota as an "immigrant refuge." Instead, the measure calls for legal status for undocumented immigrants.

Immigration agents swept through Mendota on Feb. 8. Mendota officials estimate about 200 people were arrested. Many U.S.-born children were left behind once agents picked up their parents.

Riofrío called the raids "inhumane," saying many of the residents have worked in the fields and contributed to the community, helping the town and the Valley economically.

The raid angered many residents in the Valley. For some Mendota residents, it created a wave of fear in the farming town best known fort its cantaloupe crop.

Mendota's resolution asks federal immigration officials to stop deportation of undocumented workers because additional sweeps "are extremely detrimental to an already economically depressed community" and it causes "emotional turmoil and financial hardship" to U.S.-born children separated from their parents.

The resolution has no effect on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said spokeswoman Lori Haley. "We're trying to restore the integrity of the nation's immigration policy," she said. She earlier said more federal agents are being organized into teams that will conduct more raids sometime this year.

The sweeps are a result of 'Operation Return to Sender,' part of a nationwide effort to reduce illegal immigration. The operation targets people with deportation orders issued by a judge, but agents can pick up other undocumented immigrants they come in contact with, according to ICE. Immigration officials said some of those they have arrested are criminals, but Mendota residents claim no warrants were served on anyone who was rounded up last month.

In the Fresno resolution, Autry also vowed to have the city pursue a suit against the federal government to have such immigration raids stopped. That idea was later dropped.

Fresno councilmembers who opposed the idea said the city has no place representing Mendota in a lawsuit or passing judgment on federal law. "Fresno could be next," Autry said.

Councilmembers Henry T. Perea, Cynthia Sterling and Blong Xiong voted yes. Jerry Duncan, Larry Westerlund and Mike Dages voted no.

"We have a responsibility to challenge the federal government when they're wrong," said Autry. He said he will champion immigration reform "until my dying breath."

Mendota Mayor Robert Silva and Orange Cove Mayor Víctor López. Sanger Mayor Michael Montelongo and San Joaquín Mayor Amarpreet Dhaliwal sent letters supporting Autry's effort.

Manuel Cunha Jr., president of the Nisei Farmers League in Fresno, said he supports Autry but doesn't agree with the mayor's position to sue the federal government.

Instead, city leaders throughout the Valley should contact their representatives in Congress, who Cunha said "have failed to deal with immigration policy."

Cunha said children have a right to go to school and live without fear of losing their parents. Growers have a right to a dependable workforce so their business can be successful.

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rayestrada@vidaenelvalle.com.
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Just how can they have "legal" status when they are illegal??

Riofrío, a market owner, was the main proponent behind the resolution. The councilman initially wanted the resolution to declare Mendota as an "immigrant refuge." Instead, the measure calls for legal status for undocumented immigrants.