Thread: Illegal Immigrants Moved Out of Camp Dodge

http://www.woi-tv.com/Global/story.asp? ... 3&nav=1LFX

Illegal Immigrants Moved Out of Camp Dodge

Dec 14, 2006 07:48 PM PST

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP)- An immigrant community struck by fear and uncertainty in recent days found precious hope Thursday in two paper signs, casually taped to a wall near the guarded entrance of Camp Dodge here.

"Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention visitation,'' the signs read, in English and Spanish. "All visitors entering the premises to visit family members are requested to provide photo identification.''

For many people affected by a federal raid Tuesday at a Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Marshalltown, the visitation was the first opportunity to contact family or loved ones who were rounded up as part of an immigration sweep.

At least 90 Swift workers who were arrested are being processed at Camp Dodge, which serves as headquarters to the Iowa National Guard. They were some of nearly 1,300 Swift employees taken into custody Tuesday in a six-state immigration sweep that targeted workers who were undocumented or suspected of using stolen identities to legitimize their employment.

Tim Counts, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said officials expect all the immigrants taken to Camp Dodge to be gone from the facility by noon Friday after they have been processed. He said some of those arrested have already been deported, and others were being sent to more permanent federal detention facilities.

Members of Marshalltown's Hispanic community say that's a frightening thought because many families don't know where their loved ones will be taken and haven't been able to reach them since the sweep.

"We just don't know,'' said Sister Christine Feagan, of Marshalltown, a nun who has close ties to the city's Hispanic community. "People have really been kept incommunicado. Some still haven't heard anything. Others have heard stuff from their relatives who are already on the other side of the Mexican border.'' She added: "There's a total lack of communication.''

Federal officials said everyone who was taken into custody has had the opportunity to contact their family, and that if they were being transferred to a new facility they would have access to telephones and other means of communication. Counts said he could not reveal where people were taken because of security concerns.

In Marshalltown, the raids have cast a pall over the Hispanic community, where rumors are running rampant about future ICE raids, Feagan said. The Des Moines Register reported on its Web site that at least one additional immigration-related arrest was made in Marshalltown on Thursday.

"They were afraid to leave their house before,'' Feagan said. "Now they're afraid to stay in their house.'' Many are simply packing up, she said.

"Supposedly a bus left here today for Mexico today and it was full,'' she said. "I suspect a lot of people will pick up and leave as fast as they can. There's a lot of fear.''

Even with the new concerns, some found temporary solace in visiting their relatives. Federal officials offered visitation from noon until 6 p.m. Thursday for relatives of those taken into custody. Feagan said even that privilege came under unique circumstances and with special conditions. She said she had spoken to people who went to visit their loved ones and found themselves surrounded by 20 ICE agents.

"You can't say anything in a situation like that,'' she said. Others in the Hispanic community said they feared for family members who would be left behind or struggle to keep up with their relatives once they left Camp Dodge. Alex Orozco, an organizer with the United for Dignity and Safety of Immigrants, a Des Moines organization, said he knew of at least a dozen children who had become separated from their parents who were arrested on Tuesday.

"We're trying to put pressure on authorities to release these women already,'' he said. "We've heard some of them are being moved to Atlanta. We fear that if these mothers are moved ... it will be a much, much more difficult situation.''

Counts defended federal policies, and said that extra efforts were made in situations where children might have been left without parents. He said at one of the facilities where he had been, about two dozen people were released on their own recognizance to take care of their children.

Orozco and others rallied in front of the federal building in Des Moines on Thursday night to voice support. He said advocates would push for more access to legal assistance for the detainees. Attorney Gail Boliver said he tried in vane on Wednesday to reach those being held at Camp Dodge and offer them legal advice. A Marshalltown resident, Boliver said Tuesday's events perfectly illustrate America's immigration problem.

"There's a concern, a concern that this is the effect of having ignored the practicalities of where we are with immigration policies and laws,'' he said. "It's very simple to say some folks are here illegally. But now ... you have I think an unnatural situation.''

"They were afraid to leave their house before,'' Feagan said. "Now they're afraid to stay in their house.'' Many are simply packing up, she said.

"Supposedly a bus left here today for Mexico today and it was full,'' she said. "I suspect a lot of people will pick up and leave as fast as they can. There's a lot of fear.''

Yahoo.

Many are simply packing up, she said.

Maybe putting up these signs all over town would speed their return home.

Looks like a great sign to be posted at all DL sites.

[quote]"Supposedly a bus left here today for Mexico today and it was full,'' she said. "I suspect a lot of people will pick up and leave as fast as they can. There's a lot of fear.'' [/quote]

Hmmm........imagine that, enforement does work after all. So it would appear as if the U.S. House (majority Republican) was correct in their assumption that the use of enforcement would force many illegal immigrants to self-deport. Personally, I think the above comment makes many pro-illegal immigrant politicians look like idiots. Just imagine how many would self-deport if these raids were to become a common occurance.

Please, everyone that blogs on other immigration sites, let the users know of this instance where enforcement did actually work in forcing illegal immigrants to self-deport. Remember, attrition through enforcement is not only the best option, it's the only option!

You know, the more I think about it, some of those leaving for Mexico City by bus are probably going to meet up with their recently deported spouses and family members.

That's a good thing.