Thread: Raid rumors roil undocumented community (NC)

Raid rumors roil undocumented community
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http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/week_1 ... legal.html
August 6, 2008 - 6:27PM
Keren Rivas / Times-News
Recent arrests in the county have heightened worries among undocumented immigrants in Alamance County about possible roundups.
Word of mouth, e-mails, text messages and flyers are being passed around among members of the community to warn those in the country illegally about massive roundups, or "redadas," along county roads and at factories that are supposedly being planned for today, Friday and Saturday.
Edith, a Mexican native who has lived in the United States illegally for the past 10 years, said Wednesday that she has heard that starting today, there will be traffic checkpoints. Besides regular police officers, she said, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be waiting to arrest those who are found driving without a license or with an expired license.
Edith shared her views in her native Spanish and only gave her first name when interviewed.
Edith said she has been told that ICE agents will be going door to door in certain neighborhoods and entering Mexican grocery stores across the county looking for illegal residents to round up. She said rumors persist that on Friday, agents will hit local factories, which she said is causing many people to decide to stay home that day.
Though there are always rumors about possible roundups, she says the stories are worse this time around. Whether they are true or not, Edith said she is afraid of what would happen to her 4-month-old boy if she is arrested.
Damaris, 28, said she heard recently on a Spanish newscast that there will be raids in Charlotte as well this weekend. She said people are also saying that ICE agents are going to arrest people at their houses. Though she wouldn't like to be deported, Damaris, who is from Guatemala, said that is a risk of being in the country illegally.
"This is not my country," she said, adding that she came to America looking for work five years ago. She said she has no opinion about the recent events in the county. "This is their country," she said of federal authorities and other law enforcement. "They are doing what they consider to be right."
Rosalinda Guerrero, who works at Plaza Latina in Graham, said she has been hearing similar rumors from customers this week. A lot of people, she said, have told her that they aren't leaving their homes for fear of being arrested by federal authorities. She said others have told her that they plan to move away to avoid arrest.
Guerrero doesn't believe there is truth to the rumors. "If they are going to do it they are not going to let you know in advance," she said.
She said she even received a text message Tuesday night from a friend who was alerting people about a traffic stop on Interstate 85/40 near the 145 exit. She and her husband happened to be driving by that area when the text came and were able to verify that police were not there.
"People don't know what to believe," Guerrero said, adding that whoever is perpetuating the rumors is only making things worse.
Sergio Guzman, owner of Guzman's Market in Burlington, said business has decreased considerably because people worry about being stopped for driving with an expired license to then be processed for deportation.
Like other merchants in the area, Guzman is aware of the rumors but doubts their veracity. One story he's heard calls for entire factories to shut down their operations Friday since many of their employees are not going to be working that day.

E-MAILS ALERTING PEOPLE about road blocks have also been making their way into mailboxes. One such e-mail says that according to information from a "reliable source" the N.C. Highway Patrol and certain sheriff's departments in the state will be holding driver's license checks on Aug. 8 and 9.
Besides rumors, several flyers have started to pop up near Hispanic businesses in the county. The flyers, which are being distributed in the community and have been posted on several utility poles along Webb Avenue in Burlington, are a word of caution for those immigrants in the community who are "undocumented."
"Beware Hispanics of Alamance County, one and all," the note says in Spanish. "You are respectfully cautioned to avoid talking with Alamance County law enforcement officers due to the recent decision by Sheriff Terry Johnson and the commissioners, Larry W. Sharpe, Dan Ingle, Tim D. Sutton and William H. Lashley, who have authorized the local police to trap and arrest undocumented people."
The flyer, whose origin and author are unknown, goes on to say that officers are doing raids, traffic checks and deporting undocumented immigrants.
"If you value your freedom and the welfare of your family, friends and compatriots, avoid police at all cost just as you would avoid the devil," the flyer concludes.
At the bottom of the flyer, a Web link is listed. The link corresponds to a notice that was posted in Boston on April 24, 1851, as a warning for "colored people" after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. The notice, the site said, "reflects the new atmosphere in the North for African Americans, one marked by an ever-present fear of kidnapping and conflict."
Mauricio Galvez, 38, a legal immigrant from El Salvador who has lived in this country for at least 22 years, said that the atmosphere in the county is hostile when it comes to illegal immigration.
"I have heard about the sheriff's aggressiveness against the illegal population," Galvez said, "how he is always looking for a pretext to detain them ... and check their status."
He said it is wrong for the Sheriff's Department to get involved in immigration issues because it only worsens the relationship between the two communities. He said the illegal segment of the population is not going to call the police to report crimes they have witnessed or have been victims of.
"I think that is unjust," he added.

Time to gather, pack, gas up and hit the road home, Amigos.

You will not like deportation. To leave voluntarily is your Most Wise Option.

Are these the same illegal aliens who marched in the streets and stomped on the American Flag? Every action gets an equal and opposite re-action
and then some

The attitude that legal immigrations should take with those in their ethnic community, is: you are safer at home. Go back.
Many legal immigrants, whatever country they are originally from are not real pleased about this overwhelming influx of illegals.

How about the self-deport as soon as possible on their own terms rather than wait to be forcibly deported? Go home...the welcome mat is no longer here...we want you to go back and make your countries a better place for you and your family. We've had enough.

[quote]This is not my country," she said, adding that she came to America looking for work five years ago. She said she has no opinion about the recent events in the county. "This is their country," she said of federal authorities and other law enforcement. "They are doing what they consider to be right."

WOW! An illegal invader who is capable of rational thought! That may be a first!

Now go home please!

Oh these poor people, this is no way to live. Constantly fearful of getting caught for their crimes. Too bad, so sad, don't care, GET OUT!

Here's some FREE advice:

Take the self-deportation olive branch, pack up your stuff and GET OUT! Go back to the homeland and live in freedom and peace, take your whole family with you! No need to live in fear.

What was that town in PA that was inviting illegals? Maybe I can get some of those handbills out while folks appear to be packing....

CUT OFF JOBS, BENEFITS, PUT IN JAIL, DON'T LET THEM IN COLLEGE, PUNISH LANDLORDS AND EMPLOYERS, AND RETHINK WHO IS PROMOTING ILLEGAL IN THE GOVERNMENT AND VOTE THEM "OUT"