Rumors of immigrant raids raise fears among Volusia's Hispanics
By FRANK FERNANDEZ
March 21, 2010 12:05 AM
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Many Hispanics in Volusia County have been frightened by rumors of sweeps and raids by immigration enforcement agents, according to activists who worry some people will be too frightened to participate in the U.S. census or a demonstration.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the agency has not made any sweeps or raids in Volusia County. But the rumors make it tougher to convince Hispanics to take part in a demonstration for immigration rights scheduled today in Washington, D.C., said Tirso Moreno, general coordinator of the Farmworker Association of Florida.

The rumors are not just in Florida but have flared up across the nation, Moreno said.

"They are rumors," he said. "This always happens when we are preparing a large action for immigration reform. I don't know where they come from. It terrorizes people and it affects participation. Some people have already canceled. "

The majority have not canceled, he said. At least 40 buses loaded with about 2,000 Hispanics were expected to depart Florida on Saturday headed to Washington, D.C., for the "March for America: Change Takes Courage" rally for comprehensive immigration reform.

Earlier in the week, though, the rumors swirled, spread by word-of-mouth, e-mail and text messages.

The rumors alarmed women who had gathered at an AIDS prevention workshop on March 13, said Ana Bolaños, who leads the Alianza de Mujeres Activas or Alliance of Active Women. Cell phones started ringing with alarmed callers or foreboding text messages warning of immigration raids. Some women left the meeting and rushed home.

"It was very ugly and plus it was sad," Bolaños said. "It was depressing. It shows the anguish people are going through."

But Bolaños said she has not seen any sign of immigration agents or sweeps in her travels throughout western Volusia County.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not made any arrests in Volusia County in the past week, spokeswoman Nicole Navas wrote in an e-mail Friday. She also said there had been no sweeps or raids.

"ICE is focused on strategic, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes dangerous criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to public safety, not sweeps or raids that indiscriminately target undocumented immigrants," according to Navas' e-mail.

"Our enforcement actions are targeted in nature," she said in a phone interview. "We prioritize our resources to identify criminal aliens, those that are dangerous to our community and are threats to our public safety."

Nevertheless, the rumors are making it more difficult to convince people to participate in the census, said Marcos Crisanto, coordinator of the Farmworker Association of Florida's Pierson office.

"Of course, many people don't want to go out," Crisanto said. "They are sometimes doubtful about filling out the forms. They stay at home except to go to their jobs."

Lariza Garzon, a community organizer with the National Farm Worker Ministry in DeLand, has also heard the rumors. She is traveling with a group of about a half dozen to Washington for the rally.

"Everybody is really scared," Garzon said. "A lot of people have contacted us to ask if it's just rumors or if it's actually true."

frank.fernandez @news-jrnl.com

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