Thread: Rally presses case of illegal immigrants arrested in East Ha

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04/27/2006
Rally presses case of illegal immigrants arrested in East Hartford
By Ben Rubin , Journal Inquirer


EAST HARTFORD - Catalyzed by the arrest and pending deportation of six local illegal Salvadorans, a statewide coalition and a crowd of residents rallied Wednesday for immigration rights.

The Connecticut Regional Coalition for Immigration Rights planned the rally after it found out that six illegal immigrants in town were arrested in January and February by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, assisted by local police.

An ICE official said Tuesday that the six men were suspected affiliates of the gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 - a claim that coalition members and several local Latinos rejected, saying the men were not gang members and there are no gangs in their neighborhoods.

"These people were hard workers and just happened to be there when immigration came and asked them for their papers," coalition organizer Marela Zacarias told a crowd of 40 people in front of the Raymond Library.

She added, "Immigrants should not live in fear, not when they follow the law, and we want to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Many speakers brought up the larger issue of the need for immigration reform, and called for equal rights and equal treatment.

Carlos Martinez, the brother of two of the men arrested, told the crowd through a translator, "It is an honor for me to stand right here and put words to the innocence of my family."

Martinez said he has lived in East Hartford for seven years, and his brothers were in town for three years. He said his brothers are not part of a gang - "They were workers," he said.

He said he still has many questions about what happened, why his brothers were arrested, and where they are. He concluded by telling the crowd to "keep the struggle going" for immigration rights.

Coalition members first met with Mayor Melody A. Currey a few weeks ago to discuss their complaints of local police harassment and racial profiling of Latinos, the mayor said Tuesday.

Currey said she looked into the issue and found no proof of those complaints. East Hartford Police spokesman Officer Hugo Benettieri said no formal complaint was filed with the department.

"I don't think anybody is profiling or targeting anyone. I wouldn't condone profiling," the mayor said. "East Hartford has worked very hard at welcoming all people to this community."

One of the six arrested men has already been deported, four await deportation while locked up in prisons in Massachusetts, and state authorities are holding one on state charges.

The men were arrested under ICE's Operation Community Shield, which started in February 2005 specifically to target MS-13 gang members. Since then, ICE has arrested, then deported or criminally prosecuted thousands of alleged gang members and associates throughout the U.S.
Benettieri said all the arrests were initiated by ICE and came from information compiled by ICE.

The first time MS-13 was mentioned as being in East Hartford surfaced in October when a brawl at a child's birthday party was allegedly started by gang members.

Benettieri said local police called ICE officials after the incident to inform them that MS-13 may have been involved, but he said there was no other connection to the January and February arrests.

She added, "Immigrants should not live in fear, not when they follow the law, and we want to make sure this doesn't happen again."

If they were following the law, they wouldn't be here.