Thread: Ventura Co. sweep nets three dozen illegal immigrants

County sweep nets three dozen illegal immigrants
By Tom Kisken (Contact)
Thursday, October 4, 2007

Three dozen illegal immigrants from Ventura County were arrested over the past two weeks, most of them at their homes early in the morning, as part of the nation's largest enforcement sweep ever, federal officials said Wednesday.

An additional 36 people already serving time in Ventura County Jail were taken into federal custody for deportation proceedings in a sweep that netted 1,327 illegal immigrants in five Southern California counties. Federal officers focused on people with criminal records and on fugitives who had been previously ordered to leave the country.

"We feel that we're making the community safer, and we're protecting the integrity of this country's immigration system," said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lori Haley.

The numbers of arrests and jail apprehensions were unprecedented, but the sweep was low-key enough that many people in Ventura County, including Sheriff Bob Brooks, immigration activists and a United Farm Workers representative, didn't know it was happening. As the news spread Wednesday, it drew the same gaping divide in reactions that marks the struggle over illegal immigration.

"Some people are in fear, but a lot of people are not. They're upset," said human rights activist Francisco Romero, who's organizing a protest march for Saturday at 2 p.m. in Oxnard's La Colonia neighborhood. "They're upset that ICE is able to take it that far not just taking people with criminal records, but they also take people without criminal records."

But Bill Glenn, a retired Border Patrol administrator in Santa Paula, said immigration agents appeared to be targeting the right people.

"I don't see how anyone could object to (deporting) people who are in jail or have criminal history or have thumbed their nose at a final deportation order," he said.

Of the 36 people arrested in Ventura County in the deportation sweep, eight had criminal records with cases involving arson, battery, theft and drug offenses.

About 15 people arrested locally, including five with criminal records, had ignored deportation orders or returned illegally after previously being removed.

Half of the people arrested in Ventura County were listed as nonfugitives, meaning they had neither criminal records nor outstanding deportation orders. ICE representative Virginia Kice said nonfugitives are typically people here illegally who are encountered by ICE agents when they're looking for criminals or fugitives.

The people with criminal records draw no sympathy from Lauro Barajas, regional director of the United Farm Workers of America. Instead, he feels for the people who have stayed in the country despite a deportation order or were arrested simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"They have kids. They have spouses. It's totally messed up," he said. "It's a tragedy."

But supporters of enforcement note the people arrested are not innocent. They're in the country illegally.

"I think any time law enforcement is aggressively enforcing our laws that's a good thing," said Joseph Turner, a former Ventura resident who leads an anti-illegal immigration group, Save Our State, that recently protested in Simi Valley.

About 530 people were arrested in the sweep in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. About half had criminal records. ICE agents also took custody of 797 illegal immigrants scheduled for release from jails in the five counties.

In addition to the 36 people from Ventura County Jail taken into custody, an additional 62 were put on detainers, meaning they'll finish their sentences and then face deportation proceedings.

The arrests and jail custody transfers from the five counties encompassed immigrants from 30 countries, from Armenia to Vietnam, though the largest number, 1,103, came from Mexico. Those caught included suspected gang members, as well as people convicted of sex offenses, assault and kidnapping.

The sweep ended Tuesday, but ICE spokeswoman Haley said, "Our fugitive operations continue all the time."
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2 ... mmigrants/

"They have kids. They have spouses. It's totally messed up," he said. "It's a tragedy."

They are criminals. Good riddance.