Thread: Latino OBL's whine over immigration raids on Long Island

Latino groups decry immigration raids on Long Island

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ ... 3775.story
By FRANK ELTMAN | Associated Press Writer
4:46 PM EDT, September 27, 2007

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A series of raids and arrests by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were criticized Thursday by advocates for undocumented workers, who complained that the actions were inhumane and in some cases endangered the welfare of children.

"Raids that break up families is not the answer to immigration," Nadia Marin-Molina, executive director of the Workplace Project, said in a statement. "We need local solutions to immigration that benefit and help the entire community. Raids that create fear within the community hurt business, create a culture of mistrust and in the end drive more people underground and outside of the system."

Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, said the raids, which began on Monday in Westbury, Hempstead and Central Islip, have "sent shock waves" throughout Latino communities.

"People are being traumatized," he said.

He claimed one mother returned home from work and found her 4-month-old child left alone after the father had been taken.

ICE spokesman Mark Thorn confirmed that the agency has been "making arrests as part of an ongoing investigation," but he declined to elaborate on the number of people arrested and the charges against them.

He said more information would be made available at the end of this phase of the investigation. He declined to comment on the claim that a child was left alone after agents arrested the father.

Long Island, like other parts of the country, has been a destination for illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America for at least a decade. Dozens of men congregate on street corners in certain neighborhoods to wait for contractors to hire them at day rates to perform landscaping, painting, construction and other manual labor.

Last week, immigration advocates filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan, claiming authorities violated Hispanic families' civil rights by raiding their homes without court warrants, sometimes bursting in before dawn to look for people who didn't live there.

The lawsuit cited one case in which authorities raided a home in East Hampton around 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 20 in search of a man it said had moved out in 2003. The people still living there were U.S. citizens, except for a child who is a legal resident awaiting naturalization.

Thorn, the ICE spokesman, said he could not comment on pending litigation.

"Raids that break up families is not the answer to immigration," Nadia Marin-Molina, executive director of the Workplace

I AGREE!! in these raids the whole family needs to be picked up and deported together!

oh sob, sob, sob. If they don't like the way we do things go home. I am tired of having to bow down to their views. Who cares. We don't want them here. Speak Engllish andlearn our ways. We should not have to change to accomodate them.

Let's see, these tratiors are protesting that you can't deport aliens who have children here, especially if the children are U.S. citizens. Well that pretty much narrows it down, nearly every single illegal here has children living with them, if not a dozen or more. No wonder they call them anchor babies, they purposely have as many children here as they can, so they can use this 'tearing families apart' claim to get to stay. What about the family members they leave behind in their home countries? I guess they don't care much about 'tearing families apart' when they do it to come here illegally.

Originally Posted by Lone_Patriot

"Raids that break up families is not the answer to immigration," Nadia Marin-Molina, executive director of the Workplace

I AGREE!! in these raids the whole family needs to be picked up and deported together!

Their kids stay here so they can continue to collect tax payer benefits.
They somehow American tax payers are responsible for their children. It's time they started paying for their own children. Do like everywhere else and send their children home with them, what's the big deal.

They broke the law, they pay the man.

Don't come here illegally, come here the correct way and you won't be crying about your children or anything else. No more hiding, or running,no more fear about a knock at your door, no fear of children left alone....though you are the ones who do this to your kids.........But, believe me, we aren't monsters, your kids are not left in a house on their own unless old enough. We know this, but I guess in your ignorance, you actually think someone will believe that lie. Maybe it happens that way in your country, but not here.


Go home, better yet, don't come here. You are not welcome anymore.

You have overstayed your visit. You have abused our services. We're tired of free-loaders who just whine and demand without any legitimacy.

Very ungrateful and ungracious of you. Don't let the door hit you in the a--when you leave!

He claimed one mother returned home from work and found her 4-month-old child left alone after the father had been taken.

Pleeeeeeeeese, give me a break.

If a baby was left alone it was because the father was to ignorant to inform the agents that the baby was in the house. If this did happen, perhaps the father should be charged with child endangerment.

These are the consequences you put your family in if you break the law. Coming here illegally is a crime and you know you can be deported. Come legally or not at all.

Originally Posted by Lone_Patriot

"Raids that break up families is not the answer to immigration," Nadia Marin-Molina, executive director of the Workplace

I AGREE!! in these raids the whole family needs to be picked up and deported together!

Amen to that, deport the whole gang of them.