Thread: PA State lawmakers target 'illegal alien invasion

ICE agents are racial profiling, persecuting families needlessly, say immigration advocates


Immigration advocates gather to fight ICE agent racial profiling

March 13, 2017 at 9:29 PM, updated March 14, 2017 at 6:06 AM

Federal immigration enforcement agents are causing fear in immigrant communities and waging a racial profiling campaign: That was the message Monday night as scores of immigration advocates gathered in Harrisburg to condemn what they described as the terrorization of immigrant families.

More than a hundred people from across the region - including religious and civic leaders and members of advocacy groups - gathered at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Soup Kitchen to condemn what speaker after speaker characterized as the persecution and criminalization of undocumented immigrants, which under law, fall under civil law.

"ICE is arresting and detaining people without immigration court orders, dressed as civilians and using unidentified vehicles," said Maria Alejandra Hernandez, of MILPA, which stands for Movement of Immigrant Leaders in Pennsylvania. ICE refers to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

Hernandez noted that ICE agents have in recent weeks waged an indiscriminate campaign across the Harrisburg region going after undocumented immigrants, at times apprehending "anyone that appears to be undocumented."

"Our families in the Harrisburg area have been targeted just on the fact that if they look Hispanic, they must be undocumented," Hernandez said.

The gathering came just hours after a cadre of state lawmakers unveiled a legislative package aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. Legislation introduced Monday by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, would criminalize the hiring of undocumented immigrants. Metcalfe characterized it as a crackdown on the "illegal alien invasion."

In recent weeks, hundreds of people across the central Pennsylvania region have been apprehended by ICE agents and ordered to detention to await hearing. ICE, which has widely characterized the recent raids as business as usual, on Monday could not be reached for comment.

The bills rolled out by Metcalfe on Monday would punish employers who hire undocumented workers; crack down on so-called "sanctuary campuses" and bar undocumented immigrants from collecting government benefits.

Monday evening's gathering was hosted by the St. Francis community, which is a predominantly Hispanic community. Its senior pastor, the Rev. Orlando Reyes, opened the event with a prayer appealing for peace and justice in his community.

The community forum was billed as a demonstration of solidarity and attended by more than a dozen community groups representing among them, faith communities, nonprofits and immigration resource organizations.

For members of the panel of speakers it was an opportunity to air grievances against the newly redefined federal immigration policy.

Hernandez said the Harrisburg community would not tolerate injustice and persecution.

"(President) Trump is targeting undocumented families at a time when all working people of our state, immigrant and nonimmigrant alike, struggle for better paying jobs, against rising costs of basic necessities and for safer communities," she said. "Immigrant communities from across Pennsylvania are standing up against it because no one is safe when working families are used as pawns in cruel political games."

Shamaine A. Daniels, a Harrisburg City Council member, noted that Pennsylvania's historically inhospitable policies towards immigrants has "meant a significant loss of power." She said the state had lost half of its congressional seats over the years, from 38 congressional seats down to 18, as compared to states like Florida and California, which have thriving immigrant communities.

"What happens to immigrant communities has on a grand scale impact on everyone," she said.

Inhospitable policies exclude tourists, investors and "people who would come to Pennsylvania to invest and live," she said

Aaysha Noor, a representative of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, denounced the recent raids as acts of racial profiling and xenophobia.

"These people are our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers," she said. "We are not going to sit back and let immigration agents spread hate, fear, anxiety and disruption in our society."

Andy Hoover, of the ACLU, warned that the organization was monitoring for racial profiling, checkpoints and illegal detentions. He said the organization was prepared to challenge these.

"If you engage in immigration enforcement, we will be watching you," Hoover said. "You better know your constitution."

Hoover warned state and local police to "stay out of immigration enforcement, adding that officials should "make sure troopers and officers understand that as well."

Carla Christopher, a representative of Put People First, a health advocacy group, said undocumented immigrants are so afraid to leave their homes, some are dying because they are not seeking medical attention.

"We are not just talking about people being able to go to their jobs," she said. "We are talking about people who are not being able to survive on a day-to-day basis because they are afraid."

Speaker after speaker excoriated the destruction of families and the terror brought upon children who worry that their parents will disappear.

Lindsey Mauldin, of the National Organization for Women, said the current crackdown on undocumented immigrants particularly impacts women in more adverse ways than men.

She said immigrant women are often fleeing dangerous conditions and are sent right back into those conditions. She said "we fail as feminists and humans," when the country fails to look after these women. She derided the "twisted truths" she says are swirling around the immigration debate. She said women have more obstacles in gaining asylum or protection from the law, as a result, families are being torn apart.

"Think about that," Mauldin said. "Children will go to sleep tonight worrying about their mothers and wondering if they will ever see them again."
Immigration attorney Craig Shagin shared stories of some of his clients who have been detained by ICE under harrowing circumstances.

He said the current immigration enforcement policy is humiliating and expensive and devoid of human dignity.

Shagin compared the current policies to communist East Germany, where people were afraid of neighbors reporting them to authorities.

"Having order and decency seems something we would want to do and need to do if we want to preserve this country," he said. "No one wants to live in a world where we may be afraid of our neighbors."

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/03...ts_immigr.html

Self deport if you do not want to live in fear!

Sell out, pack up and get out before you are caught and are deported with nothing.