Thread: Immigration arrests, rumors worry Yonkers' Irish

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Immigration arrests, rumors worry Yonkers' Irish
By HANNAN ADELY
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: May 9, 2006)


YONKERS — Community leaders are reassuring the city's Irish residents that there is no immigration crackdown under way, despite a raid in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx last week.

The Emerald Isle Immigration Center in the Bronx and the Aisling Irish Community Center in Yonkers put out fliers and sent e-mails to local residents letting them know that an arrest Thursday was related to a specific case and not part of a larger crackdown.

The arrest comes at a time of high tension and paranoia among illegal immigrants, as rumors circulate in their communities throughout the nation that federal agents have begun rounding up illegal immigrants at stores and workplaces and making arrests.

Emerald Isle and the Aisling Irish Community Center decided to put out information about the incident to quell rumors that might worsen fears of arrest.

"I think it was a proactive move on our part," said Siobhan Dennehy, Emerald Isle's executive director. "These things can tend to escalate in communities as tight-knit as ours."

According to Emerald Isle, six immigration officers visited a Woodlawn apartment Thursday morning to question an unidentified Irish resident about a possible immigrant-smuggling situation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not return calls yesterday regarding the case.

On Friday and Saturday, calls coming into Emerald Isle were 30 percent to 40 percent greater as a result of inquiries about the raid, Dennehy said. Staffers told callers not to worry about the incident and informed them it was an isolated case.

"This was a very, very targeted inquiry. They're not rounding people up," Dennehy said.

Still, in Woodlawn, as in many other areas with large numbers of immigrants, rumors already have grown to a larger-than-life level, said Kathleen O'Brien, a Bronx resident active in Irish affairs in Yonkers.

Two friends who live in Woodlawn told her Saturday that they had heard about random immigration checks in their neighborhood.

"There were rumors that people were randomly stopped on the street and questioned by immigration and asked to prove their identity. That really scared me," O'Brien said.

Though she was born in the United States, O'Brien said rumors like that made her friends and relatives fearful about their status in the United States.

Rumors of random sweeps have put immigrant communities on edge throughout the country. The rumors were fueled in part by a recent publicized raid on IFCO Systems, a manufacturer of crates and pallets, in which more than 1,000 employees were arrested.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said the department is focusing on undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes but is not conducting random checks.

Deborah Notkin, first vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, advised immigrants to go about their normal business but to be prudent.

"I think the important thing now is to let people know their rights," Notkin said. "It's unlikely they'll be stopped on the streets, but they are under no obligation to stop, if police ask, and give documents."

Quote: "I think the important thing now is to let people know their rights," Notkin said. "It's unlikely they'll be stopped on the streets, but they are under no obligation to stop, if police ask, and give documents."

So this person is promoting to these illegals that if a police officer stops them for any reason and asks for their papers they are not obligated to show them anything? I do not think so!!! Considering if a police officer stops them they are breaking the law in some way.

I am tired of illegals rights (of which they legally have none in this country) what about our rights as citizens of the united states to deport illegals that sneak into our country?

I don't care where they hail from - if they are here illegally - they are here illegally - and they need to go home and do it the right way.