Thread: Some arrested in sweeps try to immigrate properly

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 16054/1075

Some arrested in sweeps try to immigrate properly
By Fernando Zapata
Originally posted on October 17, 2006


Camila Alzate can’t understand why her father is no longer with her.

All the 4-year-old remembers is that Cape Coral police arrived one morning and took him away.

“First I told her that Dad was arrested for owing traffic tickets, and nothing more,” said Camila’s mother, Maritza Villegas.

Camila’s father, Edinson Alzate, 38, was one of 163 immigrants arrested Sept. 20 and 21 by Immigration and Citizenship Enforcement officers during sweeps in Southwest Florida.

ICE officials said agents targeted undocumented immigrants with criminal pasts or deportation orders against them. They won’t discuss individual cases.

Neither Alzate nor his wife have criminal records, and since 2002, they have received work permits and valid Social Security numbers. The Colombian family was trying to obtain permanent residency based on a political-asylum request.

The couple’s only sin, they say, was being misinformed by their attorney, to whom they paid more than $10,000 in fees.

“We never received any letter or notice that our asylum request had been denied,” said Martiza Villegas. “Our lawyer didn’t know anything. An immigration agent told me that once I signed the request, I was at risk of being deported.”

Fort Myers immigration lawyer Ricardo Skerrett said he wouldn’t trust an attorney who collects money without signing a contract first.

“The lawyer is obliged to accomplish a certain function,” he said, “but if there is no contract signed, it all comes down to ‘he said/she said,’” Skerrett said.

Arrests on the rise

The September raids arrested immigrants from 11 countries, including a man wanted on murder charges, along with 25 others who were wanted or were convicted criminals.

The remaining 137 were charged for overstaying their visas, having fraudulent documents or otherwise being in the country illegally.

Authorities dubbed the sweep “Operation Return to Sender,” the same tag applied to a nationwide roundup in June that netted more than 2,100 illegal immigrants.

About 12 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States, 1 million in Florida, according to federal estimates.

“This is not even the tip of the iceberg to how bad it’s going to get down the road,” said Russ Landry, president of the Southwest Florida-based Citizens against Illegal Immigrants.

Landry said overcrowded schools, busy hospitals and an increase in crime are part of the illegal immigration influx.

“There’s no need for it, except the failure of our government,” he said.

Sweeps questioned

People on both sides of the immigration issue question the ICE sweeps.
People calling for stricter enforcement say ICE raids only highlight the real problem — foreign fugitives slipping into the United States.

Immigrant advocacy groups say ICE frequently sweeps up people who pose no threat.

The Alzates say theirs is a case in point.

“Is this what you get when you try to do things right?” Villegas asked.

Like the Alzates, Gustavo Argondizza and Adriana Alegre said they had applied for political asylum and never received notice that their request had been denied. That’s why they neither hid nor changed their address.

Immigration agents arrested Argondizza on Sept. 20 after pounding on the door at his Estero home at 4:30 a.m.

“This has been the worst nightmare in our lives,” said Alegre, Argondizza’s wife, who must leave the country with her daughters by Oct. 30 or risk deportation.

“All of this is unfair. When we told the immigration agent that we never received any deportation letter, he said, ‘I am the letter.’”

Alegre and Argondizza, who had legal documents while waiting for their permanent residency, had invested five years of savings into buying an auto shop in Naples.

Now, Alegre is trying to sell the business, along with the couple’s home and belongings, to try to scrape together enough money to return to their native Argentina.

Life in jail

Inside the privately run Otero County Prison north of Chaparral, N.M., where Edinson Alzate is being held, the biggest struggles are about separation.

“Here, the worst illness is that of the spirit,” Alzate said from a phone inside the lockup.

He said that a group of immigrant inmates get together every night to read the Bible.

“This comforts us,” Alzate said, “because we understand God has a purpose for everything, like the storm we are going through now.”

Alzate and his family plan to return to Colombia.

“I have to find out what to do with our house. If I’ll have to sell it, or rent it,” said his wife, Villegas, referring to the three-bedroom home the family bought two years ago.

Despite the uncertain life she and her family face in Colombia, Villegas is not bitter about her experience in the United States.

“I am very grateful to this country for everything it gave to us,” she said, “but I will not separate my family.”

Every time I read these stories I hear Bush telling us about them practicing their faith and about their values. All I ever see is no human is illegal, nothing is my fault, no border or law applies to me, and no union is improper. These Bibles they read are surely a few pages light?

I especially like the line that says they would like to immigrate legally but are unable to do so, yes there is no more room here get it!!! That is why we cannot take anymore people into this country as we cannot absorb them. Yet they seem to think they are entitled and come here anyway and burden us with their needs for social services without regard for the cost as they are not paying for it. Forcing/sneaking your way into another country against the law and demanding rights makes you a criminal plain and simple

If they came here illegally and worked illegally they should not be allowed to come back legally. ICE has a job to remove illegals and they are only following it. If people are ignorant enough to put up a lot of money to lawyers and not sign any papers than it is their fault. I see elderly Americans get exploited with various scams such as credit cards and if they are of sound mind than they have to pay the bill so why should I feel sorry for a foreigner who was ripped off. He should have asked others he knew for references. Ignorance is no excuse.

These Bibles they read are surely a few pages light?

Loserville,
I'm guessing when they did the spanish translation, all the sections which talked about God even saying "obey the laws of the land" were intentionally left out...But that's just my guess.

If they came illegally they deserve to be sent back. However, if it is true that one couple had legal documents while waiting for permanent residency, then that is a problem with the system.

The goal is to get rid of illegals, not people who are trying to follow the law.

If the couple had papers than they may not have remained in status which then allows you to be kicked out. For example if you have a work permit, you usually are allowed to do only certain types of jobs and if you do something else than it becomes grounds for deportation. I wish we had the entire story but often they don't want to tell you everything as it will not be the sob story they want you to hear.
If it was a mistake, it would have been cleared up. In Miami we had a case where a Cuban married a Dominican and when they went to immigration they were separated and questioned to see if it was a bogus marriage or not. The man had a heart attack and died right in the immigration building. Within 3 to 4 months a decision was made whether the wife would get her residency or not.

Like the Alzates, Gustavo Argondizza and Adriana Alegre said they had applied for political asylum and never received notice that their request had been denied. That’s why they neither hid nor changed their address.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the above comment make it sound as if the couple would have went into hiding had they known about the deportation order? IMO, these folks were gaming the system by applying for an asylum they probably knew they weren't eligible for. I'd bet my last dollar that they had every intention of vanishing once they received word of their denied asylum. Thank goodness ICE caught them first!

I agree with you 100%. Another thing I recall is that some people had temporary assylum granted. Maybe they were going to overstay that as many people have.

They have already broken the law by being here illegally, so they shouldn't even be considered as a potential legal immigrant. The door needs to be shut permanantly on them.