Marchers press for halt to ICE raids
Barry Gutierrez © The Rocky

July 13, 2007

Immigrant advocates had planned Thursday's protest outside federal buildings downtown long before authorities carried out raids this week at former Swift plants, searching for alleged immigration violators and other criminals.

Tuesday's operation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Swift & Co. meatpacking plants across the country, including Greeley, underscored the concerns by immigrants and their supporters who demanded during their protest that the Department of Homeland Security put a halt to the raids.

About 50 protesters walked in front of the Byron White U.S. Federal Building and Courthouse carrying signs that read, "Stop the Raids," along with a photograph of a child in distress. The photo of the youngster is meant to highlight the frustration raised by immigrants and their backers that parents and their children are being separated by the job enforcement operations.

"I want to say that your presence is very important because it means that the struggle is going to continue," Dora Medina, a Guatemalan immigrant and a member of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, told the marchers and the media.

The protesters said they will continue to press U.S. lawmakers to pass an immigration reform bill even though Congress recently dropped a proposal.

Homeland Security officials said they need to crack down on unauthorized workers because illegal immigration leads to other crimes, such as identity theft and document fraud. Raids at job sites have been carried out during the past few months.

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