Ryan Pagelow, reporter, continues to put the sob spin with his article about this issue. This article appears this morning with pictures of a tearful wife and children. Oh I hope this doesn't go sour for Waukegan...

Rationale: I robbed a bank 7 years ago and you still want to deport me?? Ahhh yes. I don't think our chief of policed would submit a name otherwise. Here is his email to send notes of support if you like.

Bill Biang
Police Chief

wbiang@waukeganpd.net



Caught in gangbanger deportation sweep
Targets of sweep pose a threat to public: ICE

August 30, 2007
By RYAN PAGELOW and Nicholas P. Alajakis rpagelow@scn1.co and nalajakis@scn1.com

Immigration raids this week in Lake County show it can take years for legal permanent residents convicted of deportable offenses to actually enter deportation proceedings. In come cases, it's long enough for them to turn their lives around.

Relatives of some of the legal permanent residents swept up in the immigration crackdown focusing on gang members this week said their relatives are no longer involved in gangs, although a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said only individuals who pose a threat to public safety are being arrested in "Operation Gangs Away."

» Click to enlarge image
A tearful Angelina Rojel comforts her children, Matthew, 9, and Cristian, 6, as older brother Israel Jr. talks to his father, Israel Rojel, by phone. Rojel is at a correction facility after being picked up by ICE on Sunday.
(Marina Samovsky/News-Sun)

» Click to enlarge image
Octavio Bahena's wife, Michelle, takes a moment to listen to their daughter, Samantha, 3, as Octavio's mother, Telma Jimenez, talks about the possibility of Octavio being deported.
(Michael Schmidt/News-Sun)

Prayer vigil

Immigrant rights organizations, including Casa Mexiquense of Waukegan, are planning to hold a 24-hour prayer vigil for an end to the raids outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's Application Support Center, 25 S. Green Bay Road, starting today at 7 p.m.

"My husband hasn't been in trouble for six or seven years," Michelle Bahena of Waukegan said Wednesday. Her husband, Octavio, was picked up Sunday afternoon by immigration officials and Waukegan police. He is being held in the Dodge County Detention Facility in Wisconsin.

He had gun and drug charges in the '90s and served prison time, but now works as a union carpenter, she said. He has also been a foster parent to three nieces and nephews since June of last year, she said.

"If he was in trouble, would (the Department of Children and Family Services) let him have foster kids?" Bahena said. "He's changed his life around."

She said her husband was pulled over last week by police for his license plate registration, and there was no mention of a deportation hold on him or a warrant for his arrest.

Her husband is the principal breadwinner for the family, which includes six children. She is a part-time waitress and a U.S. citizen along with the children.

Octavio, 34, immigrated to the United States from Guerrero, Mexico, when he was 4 years old, said Octavio's mother, Telma Jimenez of Waukegan.

Waukegan Police Chief William Biang said Wednesday that anyone targeted has been identified as a threat by police and immigration officials.

Biang said he couldn't go into detail as to how each target was chosen, but said that Waukegan police had street intelligence -- including information from the department's gang unit -- that aided in identifications.

Biang maintained that any additional information needs to be obtained from ICE officials.

"We're assisting immigration on this. All we're doing is providing manpower to people," Biang said.

ICE spokesperson Gail Montenegro continued the organization's tight-lipped position on the crackdown. She said Wednesday she could not release any more details on who is being targeted. ICE is expecting to provide more information to the press this morning, she said.

On Wednesday, Biang said he had heard more than 50 people around Chicago have been detained in the raids. About a dozen of them were from Waukegan, and three were from Round Lake Beach. No other local department has given information about gang crackdowns to The News-Sun.

Angelina Rojel's husband, Israel, was picked up by about 15 police and immigration officials Sunday night at their Waukegan home, and is being held in Dodge County Detention Facility in Wisconsin.

Israel had no felonies and even had a Firearm Owner Identification card, which is not available to people convicted of a felony, Angelina said.

"He's not a gang member or a threat to society," Angelina said. "All his cases were closed. They were misdemeanors."

Israel had a gun possession charge when he was 17 that was lowered to a misdemeanor. He also had a $300 theft charge from 2005, relatives said.

Israel is a press operator for a Gurnee factory and a youth soccer coach. He and Angelina have six children, all U.S. citizens, along with Angelina.

Israel was born in Tonatico, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States when he was 2 years old.

Angelina is working with a lawyer to try to get a bond hearing for her husband by Friday.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 34653,5_1_
WA30_IMMIGRATION_S1.article