Thread: Haitians targeted unfairly in immigration sweeps advocates s

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_national ... 70,00.html


Haitians targeted unfairly in immigration sweeps, advocates say
By DIANNA SMITH
March 2, 2005

The sky was still dark the morning the women heard knocks on their doors. The noises came from husky men dressed in black, pointing flashlights into the windows like burglars, holding them like guns.

They were waiting impatiently to be let inside so they could make their arrests.

Only minutes passed before the women's husbands were stuffed into vans and taken away. The wives and children were left helpless with hurting hearts, pleading so desperately it was like they thought the drivers would somehow hear them and turn around.

But the vans kept going.

Collier County is one of several Florida counties where officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, quietly appear during odd hours of the night, sometimes at places of employment, to capture people they call fugitives.

It's happening so often that disc jockeys at Haitian radio stations warn anyone without a green card to go into hiding and remain until rumor has it the officers are gone.

"People are afraid to take their children to school, to the doctor," said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in Miami. "People are even afraid to go to church. It's had a chilling effect on their quality of life."

The task force from Miami carries a list of names as mothers carry grocery lists, and each person is found, arrested and taken to a detention center in Miami or Bradenton before they're returned to their homeland.

In many cases, that homeland is Haiti.

The sweeps have been happening more often recently in Southwest Florida, and the local Haitian community feels it is being targeted.

River Park resident Rachelle Charelus's husband was taken in December. Golden Gate resident Guerline Pierre's husband was arrested during the most recent sweep about two weeks ago.

During that time, 19 people from Collier and Lee counties were seized. Seventeen of those were from Collier, but the number of Haitians isn't available, said Nina Pruneda, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Pruneda said an ICE task force searches for fugitives daily and doesn't target one nationality. Those wanted are of all nationalities, she said. The fugitives arrested during the most recent sweep were from Haiti, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.

The ICE National Fugitive Operation Program was created in 2002 because Congress wanted to make apprehending fugitives a priority within the Department of Homeland Security. The task force has arrested more than 300 people since fall, according to immigration and customs enforcement officials.

Pruneda said the list of 19 picked up earlier this month was just a preliminary list.

"We find out which exactly are the best targets and get the individuals off the streets," she said. "All of these cases are final orders of removal. These have committed a crime."

Some of those picked up by the task force are people with families, full-time jobs and homes. But, for one reason or another, they were found ineligible by an immigration judge to live in America and they later ignored deportation notices, which is a felony, Pruneda said.

Little said there are 400,000 undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Many have applied for legal status correctly, she said, but sometimes immigration officers reach these people before the papers do.

If it wasn't for "incredible immigration delays, they would've been legal," Little said. "We've heard of many cases where a notice of the immigration hearing was sent to the wrong address and the immigrant didn't receive it. There's very little that can be done in a situation like that."

The sweeps are increasing because ICE has received more money, said Casey Wolff, an immigration attorney in Collier County.

"The ICE is a big recipient of the major-league dollars coming out of Congress. The money and the bodies are starting to produce hot spots, and they're hitting them."

(Contact Dianna Smith of the Naples Daily News in Florida at http://www.naplesnews.com.)

Guess what? Illegal aliens are from all over the world.

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_national ... 70,00.html


Haitians targeted unfairly in immigration sweeps, advocates say
By DIANNA SMITH
March 2, 2005

The sky was still dark the morning the women heard knocks on their doors. The noises came from husky men dressed in black, pointing flashlights into the windows like burglars, holding them like guns.

They were waiting impatiently to be let inside so they could make their arrests.

Only minutes passed before the women's husbands were stuffed into vans and taken away. The wives and children were left helpless with hurting hearts, pleading so desperately it was like they thought the drivers would somehow hear them and turn around.

But the vans kept going.

Collier County is one of several Florida counties where officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, quietly appear during odd hours of the night, sometimes at places of employment, to capture people they call fugitives.

It's happening so often that disc jockeys at Haitian radio stations warn anyone without a green card to go into hiding and remain until rumor has it the officers are gone.

"People are afraid to take their children to school, to the doctor," said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in Miami. "People are even afraid to go to church. It's had a chilling effect on their quality of life."

The task force from Miami carries a list of names as mothers carry grocery lists, and each person is found, arrested and taken to a detention center in Miami or Bradenton before they're returned to their homeland.

In many cases, that homeland is Haiti.

The sweeps have been happening more often recently in Southwest Florida, and the local Haitian community feels it is being targeted.

River Park resident Rachelle Charelus's husband was taken in December. Golden Gate resident Guerline Pierre's husband was arrested during the most recent sweep about two weeks ago.

During that time, 19 people from Collier and Lee counties were seized. Seventeen of those were from Collier, but the number of Haitians isn't available, said Nina Pruneda, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Pruneda said an ICE task force searches for fugitives daily and doesn't target one nationality. Those wanted are of all nationalities, she said. The fugitives arrested during the most recent sweep were from Haiti, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.

The ICE National Fugitive Operation Program was created in 2002 because Congress wanted to make apprehending fugitives a priority within the Department of Homeland Security. The task force has arrested more than 300 people since fall, according to immigration and customs enforcement officials.

Pruneda said the list of 19 picked up earlier this month was just a preliminary list.

"We find out which exactly are the best targets and get the individuals off the streets," she said. "All of these cases are final orders of removal. These have committed a crime."

Some of those picked up by the task force are people with families, full-time jobs and homes. But, for one reason or another, they were found ineligible by an immigration judge to live in America and they later ignored deportation notices, which is a felony, Pruneda said.

Little said there are 400,000 undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Many have applied for legal status correctly, she said, but sometimes immigration officers reach these people before the papers do.

If it wasn't for "incredible immigration delays, they would've been legal," Little said. "We've heard of many cases where a notice of the immigration hearing was sent to the wrong address and the immigrant didn't receive it. There's very little that can be done in a situation like that."

The sweeps are increasing because ICE has received more money, said Casey Wolff, an immigration attorney in Collier County.

"The ICE is a big recipient of the major-league dollars coming out of Congress. The money and the bodies are starting to produce hot spots, and they're hitting them."

(Contact Dianna Smith of the Naples Daily News in Florida at http://www.naplesnews.com.)

Guess what? Illegal aliens are from all over the world.