Thread: Immigrants worry about more ICE raids

Immigrants worry about more ICE raids
By Liz Mineo/Daily News Staff
Sunday, March 18, 2007 - Updated: 01:00 AM EDT

The recent raid on a New Bedford leather manufacturer that netted 361 illegal immigrants - leaving dozens of families in turmoil - has the region's immigrant community anxiously looking over their shoulders.

The March 6 roundup at Michael Bianco Inc., where mostly Guatemalan and Salvadoran women made equipment and apparel for the U.S. military, led to a "humanitarian crisis," in the words of Gov. Deval Patrick. Many of the women arrested at the factory were sent to detention centers out of state, leaving their children stranded.

Nearly two weeks after the raid, immigrants in Waltham, Framingham, and the Milford area are still gripped by panic and feelings of uncertainty.

"The fear is widespread," said Braulio Mazariegos, who runs La Chapincita, a Guatemalan grocery store in Waltham. "People are saying, 'If that happened there, it could happen anywhere."'

In Marlborough, Brazilian Alexandra Silva, who works at Hot Loc's Hair Salon, said the day after the raid many stores were void of customers, and rumors spread that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were staying at a hotel nearby in preparation for another raid.

"People were afraid to go out," said Silva. "They were even afraid to go to work."

Pastor Peter Lopez, who leads the Family Worship Center in Milford, said the New Bedford roundup hit close to home. Lopez, whose church hosts 300 parishioners, mostly Hispanics, is trying to start a campaign with other local churches to help the families in New Bedford.

"The fear has crept in," said Lopez. "When you hear about raids across the country, it doesn't have the same effect as when it happens in your backyard."

The New Bedford sweep, 51 miles from Framingham, came at a time of increased scrutiny over hiring of illegal immigrants. It's no secret that ICE, a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has stepped up work-site enforcement efforts in response to pressure from Congress.

Last year, nearly 1,200 illegal workers were arrested across the country at 40 plants of IFCO Systems North America, a pallet manufacturer. Twenty-one of them, mostly Brazilians, were arrested at the IFCO plant in Westborough. The IFCO raid, in April 2006, was hailed as the beginning of a national crackdown on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Last month, James Rice, 37, of Houston, a top executive of IFCO Systems, pleaded guilty to conspiring to employ illegal workers. Dario Salvano, 36, of Amsterdam, N.Y., and Scott Dodge, 44, of Elmira, N.Y., each pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor. Dodge was foreman at an IFCO plant in suburban Albany where Salvano was assistant general manager.

Michael Ames, 44, of Shrewsbury, who was general manager of an IFCO plant in Westborough, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of hiring illegal aliens. Robert Belvin, 43, of Stuart, Fla., a former general manager of the Albany IFCO plant, pleaded guilty to two felony conspiracy charges.

Charges are pending against two other IFCO managers in Houston and Cincinnati, Ohio.

In December, federal agents rounded up more than 1,000 illegal immigrants in Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states.

While immigrant advocates decried the New Bedford operation, those who support limits on immigration welcomed it as a needed effort to increase work site enforcement. Still, more than raids, they would like to see a more effective way to ensure companies don't skirt the laws and hire illegal immigrants. That's the feeling of Jessica Vaughan, a senior policy analyst with the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports restrictions on immigration levels.

"It's pretty hard to argue that the law shouldn't be enforced," said Vaughan. "But raids are not addressing the problem of illegal immigration. They're not the solution to the problem."

Employment of illegal immigrants could be prevented from the get-go if employers are forced to screen their workers, which could be a deterrent for illegal immigration, she said. Illegal immigrants are not going to risk their lives coming here if they cannot find employers willing to hire them, she added.

As for the owner of the New Bedford factory, Francesco Insolia, 50, arrested on charges of hiring illegal workers, he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, said Vaughan.

"This is not a case of an employer who didn't know what was going on," she said. "If the allegations are true, he was an enabler, he was encouraging illegal immigrants to work for him, and he was taking advantage of them. What he did is shameful and against the law."

In Milford, home to a large Brazilian population, immigrants see the New Bedford raid as a sign of the hard times immigrants are experiencing across the nation, which remains divided over what to do with the 12 million illegal immigrants who live here.

"Life is becoming harder and harder for illegal immigrants," said Brazilian businesswoman Marisol Carper. "They cannot drive. They cannot find jobs. Many are moving out of the state and others are going back to Brazil."

Carper, who does translations, sells Brazilian clothing, jewelry and products from her store on Main Street in Milford, hopes for an immigration reform that could help illegal immigrants become legal residents.

In Framingham, Pastora Maria Neris, who leads a Brazilian church on Hollis Street, hopes for the same.

"Nobody wants to be illegal," said Neris, who is a U.S. citizen. "There is no way they can deport 12 million people. I just pray that everybody will be legalized."

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"The fear is widespread," said Braulio Mazariegos, who runs La Chapincita, a Guatemalan grocery store in Waltham. "People are saying, 'If that happened there, it could happen anywhere."'

That's right, it really could. So go home with the entire family before the same thing happens to you.

It's about time they have fear. They have broken our laws and should be deported.

"Nobody wants to be illegal," said Neris, who is a U.S. citizen. "There is no way they can deport 12 million people.

Why does everyone keep saying that? I know our government doesn't have the will to deport 20 million criminal aliens, but it can certainly be done over a period of years.

"People were afraid to go out," said Silva. "They were even afraid to go to work."

Yes, be afraid....be VERY afraid.

Originally Posted by MW

"Nobody wants to be illegal," said Neris, who is a U.S. citizen. "There is no way they can deport 12 million people.

Why does everyone keep saying that? I know our government doesn't have the will to deport 20 million criminal aliens, but it can certainly be done over a period of years.

Sure it can be done. Give a 3-6 month warning that all illegals need to exit the country or face Capitol Punishment. Why are we clowning around with these lawbreakers?

The March 6 roundup at Michael Bianco Inc., where mostly Guatemalan and Salvadoran women made equipment and apparel for the U.S. military

And who in the Pentagon is responsible for this procurement fiasco?

They should live in fear they broke our laws by entering this country illegally they should live like the criminals they are.

Originally Posted by had_enuf

Immigrants worry about more ICE raids
By Liz Mineo/Daily News Staff
Sunday, March 18, 2007 - Updated: 01:00 AM EDT

"Life is becoming harder and harder for illegal immigrants," said Brazilian businesswoman Marisol Carper. "They cannot drive. They cannot find jobs. Many are moving out of the state and others are going back to Brazil."

ATTRITION THROUGH ENFORCEMENT WORKS!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!