Thread: Immigration sweeps debated

Immigration sweeps debated
By Vanessa Colón and Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee
03/16/07 21:18:09


Calling a recent immigration raid in Mendota "a human tragedy that is mind-boggling in its callousness," Fresno Mayor Alan Autry on Friday urged the City Council to condemn federal sweeps that ensnare farmworkers.

Autry's comments spurred the Mendota City Council to table a similar proposal a few hours later, because Mendota Mayor Robert Silva said he wants to incorporate some of Autry's ideas.

"It will be stronger," Silva said of the measure Mendota's council plans to discuss again on Tuesday. "It will have more teeth."

Immigration agents conducted a sweep in the community of about 8,775 residents during the week of Feb. 7. Mendota officials estimated about 200 people were arrested. Many U.S.-born children of detainees were left behind.

Autry wants the Fresno city attorney to pursue a lawsuit against the federal government for violating the civil rights of those children.

The raid has sparked outrage among many in the Valley, where the agriculture industry relies on a labor pool that includes many workers in the country illegally. Silva - who had appeared with Autry at a new conference at Fresno City Hall earlier Friday - said the sweeps will have a devastating impact on all Valley residents' pocketbooks.

The Fresno City Council is expected to consider Autry's proposal when it meets Tuesday. At least one City Council member said he did not support the mayor's approach, however.

"Mr. Autry is certainly entitled to his opinion," said Council Member Jerry Duncan, "but to try to get this brought before the City Council is inappropriate."

Duncan said he spoke Friday with Fresno City Attorney James Sanchez who "advised me, and the mayor, that the chances of us prevailing in such a lawsuit are nil. ... Why would we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an issue that we can't win, and which doesn't directly affect our residents?"

The views expressed by Autry - a Republican - underscore the emotional nature of the immigration debate, said Alfred Evans, professor of political science at California State University, Fresno.

"The Republican Party is not united on it," Evans said. "It's an issue that creates divisions in the Republican Party and in the Democratic Party."

Sometimes, Evans said, conscience trumps politics.

"Mayor Autry does not see himself as a career politician," he said.

"Maybe he's a local guy and he's going with his own personal beliefs."

Autry made his views clear Friday, lambasting the federal immigration sweeps as a "deeply flawed policy." He said he wants all the mayors of cities in Fresno County to pass similar resolutions to the one he's urging. And he said he plans to contact Gov. Schwarzenegger and President Bush.

At issue is "Operation Return to Sender," part of a nationwide effort to reduce illegal immigration. The operation targets people with deportation orders issued by a judge, but agents can pick up other undocumented immigrants they come in contact with, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration officials said some of those they've arrested are criminals.

About 100 people turned out for the Mendota City Council meeting Friday night, and a dozen speakers urged the council to adopt its proposal without waiting.

"You need to take care of us today," said Cora Martinez, a long-time Mendota resident and former school board member.

The resolution would ask federal immigration officials to stop deportations of undocumented workers within the city, because further raids "are extremely detrimental to an already depressed community."

The proposal also would call for Mendota to become a "city of refuge" where all residents could live "free of abuse and raids by [immigration] officials."

City Council member Joseph Riofrio initiated the resolution, because he said the raids create "a climate of terror" for residents and separate families.

Aurelia Crater of Los Banos told the council of how she is helping four families affected by the Feb. 7 raid. The fathers were deported, she said, leaving mothers to care for children.

"These children aren't going to school," Crater said. "They're not seeking medical attention. They turn out the lights at night and live in fear."

The Mendota council tabled the proposal on a 2-1 vote. Two members of the five-member council were absent when the vote was held.

These local resolutions would have little practical effect, one federal official said.

Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Friday that such resolutions would not affect immigration agents' responsibility to enforce federal laws.

"That's a local initiative, local politics," Kice said. She also said federal agents play an important role in ridding communities of illegal criminals, such as sex offenders and violent criminals.

One group opposed to illegal immigration said parents in the country illegally are at fault when their U.S.-born children are separated from them.

"The children are the victims of their parents' own actions," said Caroline Espinosa, a spokeswoman for NumbersUSA, said by phone from Arlington, Va. Espinosa said she hopes the raids deter immigrants from illegally entering the United States.
Bee reporters Denny Boyles and Jim Guy contributed to this report. The reporters can be reached at vcolon@fresnobee.com, plopez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6330.

http://www.fresnobee.com/406/story/35822.html

Can you imagine that mayor in court blathering his Fresno crap? Why stop here---why not let Anarchy rule---eliminate the laws already on the books so Illegal Spawn can be proteted (boohoohoo---orphaned children!!).

Looks like "Anchor Babies" are becoming an anchor around the neck of idiot politicians like Fresno's mayor! Ship them back with their criminal parents--the more the merrier!