Thread: "Immigration Raids Target Sioux Falls"

Immigration Raids Target Sioux Falls

By Robert Wilson

Story Created: Feb 28, 2008 at 6:14 PM CST

Story Updated: Feb 28, 2008 at 6:14 PM CST

I.C.E., as the office is known, will only say that an effort is underway. Thursday afternoon Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead told KSFY he expects that I.C.E. officials will release more information tomorrow. Right now, he says fewer than 40 individuals are in the Minnehaha County Jail on immigration holds. But for those affected, it's devastating.

At Caminando Juntos, a Catholic ministry in Sioux Falls that focuses on the hispanic community, Sister Janet Horstman says the first call came in Tuesday morning of individuals being taken into custody. She's upset with the way the enforcement effort has been handled. "I guess what's so frustrating in these types of operations is the lack of communications with community based organizations or with the family members themselves."

Isac Orellena is here because his wife was taken into custody. He says she knew she needed to attend an immigration hearing, but was never notified about a time or place. "I don't understand why, because she has a work permit to work legally in this country."

Now he says he will do what he must to support her kids, but he's being told his wife will be deported. "She's devestated because we are a whole family, and she has 3 kids. One 11, 8 and 6 years old."

KSFY talked to another man this afternoon who said members of the hispanic community in Sioux Falls are very scared right now. He said many were staying home from work Thursday, afraid they might be picked up if they went to work.

Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead told said this afternoon he's hearing from I.C.E. officials that more information about this effort, who was targeted, and how many people were taken into custody, will be released Friday.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/16090097.html


And this is the kind of comments & mentality I've been up against around here:

Being an illegal immigrant does not make somebody a criminal. These people are here to try to earn a fair wage, not to cause problems. The system needs to be simpler to faciliate the integration of newcomers, to encourage compliance with laws w/o fear, and welcome them to the community.

I have no sympathy for the parents... the children are just being used as anchor babies

kids go back to the deported parents home country,just like the kids near where I live whom were born in the US but thier parents work for Volvo and after so many years,the parents and THE kids go back to Sweden a country some of these kids have never even been to.The parents and kids look me like I am crazy whenI joke about leaving the kids here.The only thing they are upset about is apparently in some places in Sweden illegals are there because of greedy employers also.

Please post your comments on these stories, and let ICE know we support them. Great news, thanks for the links.
Also see this one http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/16061617.html

Some one posted this link yesterday and not enough signatures, I had 3 of my family sign, we can do better.
http://www.petitiononline.com/x123x123/petition.html


Anyone got an email address for Congresswoman Michelle Bachman?I want to send here an ataboy.

safari - I think resistance and awareness of the problem will increase as (if?) the problem worsens. For example, consider this:

Using IA stats for % of overall population of 3 states for comparison
(MN, SD, and my state OR; borrowed from FAIR's site 2007 stats. for this example):

MN: Total 5,200,000 (IA Pop: 125,000) = 2.40%

SD: Total 800,000 (IA Pop: 5,000) = 0.62%

OR: 3,750,000 (IA Pop: 170,000) = 4.53%

You can see that SD and MN are still rather 'detached' (slow to feel the full effects of illegal 'incursion') from the overall problem - at least, compared to the states like OR, or the most affected like: TX, NC, CA, NV etc.

Originally Posted by PhredE

safari - I think resistance and awareness of the problem will increase as (if?) the problem worsens. For example, consider this:

Using IA stats for % of overall population of 3 states for comparison
(MN, SD, and my state OR; borrowed from FAIR's site 2007 stats. for this example):

MN: Total 5,200,000 (IA Pop: 125,000) = 2.40%

SD: Total 800,000 (IA Pop: 5,000) = 0.62%

OR: 3,750,000 (IA Pop: 170,000) = 4.53%

You can see that SD and MN are still rather 'detached' (slow to feel the full effects of illegal 'incursion') from the overall problem - at least, compared to the states like OR, or the most affected like: TX, NC, CA, NV etc.

I think the SD number is actually exaggerated on the low side. There is a lot of hidden people and people who use another family member's id to gain employment (i.e. brothers from Mexico in different areas of the U.S. - I know this for a fact) although they have a verification system set-up at Jobs and Training they still manage to get around the system. My mom assisted in the 2000 Census taking and she said time after time these people were reluctant to give up information about their legal status even though they were assured they wouldn't be "given up". There were some that were living in these homes but claimed not to be, we know that for a fact BUT there was nothing we could do to get them to cooperate.

I know the TX problem because I lived it. Texas is a nightmare! If it weren't for my children, I may have tried to stay there after my missionary work in Mexico BUT my children come first. That's one of the major reason I moved back to this area. I knew we weren't going to get away from the "problems illegals bring" but given family circumstances at present, it is better I did.

I think that if more enforcement is done, there will be a higher incident of illegals found than the given percentage because the Black Hills area into the Reservation has a lot of illegals, too. They just aren't Mexican, either.

safari - 'Check' on all that. I included the source of the stats. because I had a feeling someone would question those (I do too, for that matter ).

But at least it serves as a basic comparison. Or, stated another way, when the proportions increase in the future (well, let's hope that doesn't happen, but if...) then more resentment and tension will build in local communities over time. Then, the locals tend to become more aware and active on the topic to help deal with it (<- all is IMHO of course).

Based on other estimates I've seen for my state, I would guess our true IA pop. to be something like 180k-200k in reality. The SD estimate from FAIR's numbers were derived from initial field sampling US Census stats done in 2000, and I'd guess those have sprung up quite a lot since then.

The MN numbers are probably the ones of the 3 that are closest to reality - just a hunch, but I think that is probably reasonable to say.

KSFY talked to another man this afternoon who said members of the hispanic community in Sioux Falls are very scared right now. He said many were staying home from work Thursday, afraid they might be picked up if they went to work.

Employers might have a 'clue' which employees are illegal immigrants by checking who didn't show up for work.

Originally Posted by MyAmerica

KSFY talked to another man this afternoon who said members of the hispanic community in Sioux Falls are very scared right now. He said many were staying home from work Thursday, afraid they might be picked up if they went to work.

Employers might have a 'clue' which employees are illegal immigrants by checking who didn't show up for work.

more from a different source:

The immigration debate is once again on our doorstep.

Federal immigration officials are at work in Sioux Falls and Worthington, Minnesota.

While immigration officials call this a targeted operation, that doesn't mean the fear being generated in the Hispanic community is isolated.

This was the scene in Worthington at the Swift meatpacking plant, December of 2006.

230 people were rounded up.

This time around, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirm they're amidst an operation targeting specific individuals, but until that mission is complete, they won't say much more.

It's left many in Worthington on edge and in hiding.

Worthington resident Rachel Galvez says, "As you can see, Worthington is a ghost town."

Felipe Velasquz, who's lived in Worthington a dozen years, says, "All the businesses in town's going down; yesterday no people were in town."

While doors are locked at many Hispanic businesses down the street, we caught up with Felipe Velasquz who says the Tienda Guatemala will reopen as soon as his boss brings him change. He tells us a fellow cashier didn't come to work because she doesn't have the right papers.

Velasquz says, "That's why she's nervous. Most of my customers, maybe they don't have their papers, immigration papers, you know that's the problem."

Galvez says, "My family and I are all legal here, but most of the immigrants here come to work, so it's very devastating to see how people are being taken away. It's hard to see that happening to people, especially one of our own culture."

In Sioux Falls, official U.S. government vehicles were spotted parked at the U.S. homeland security building.

A local nun, who does Hispanic ministry in Sioux Falls, tells us she knows at least 5 people have been picked up so far with this immigration mission at their places of employment because their families have contacted her for help.

ICE arrested 225 people during a four-day, seven-state investigation that ended on Monday.

States involved were Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri.

http://www.kdlt.com/news.html