raids

A New Day for America, But Not for Immigrants?

Dennis Chin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:07:46 -0500

There’s a buzz in the air in Washington, DC.

The inaugural ceremony is over and I can still feel the energy of millions of folks from across the country walking the streets, filled with the excitement of what’s to come in the next four years.

Hope’s in the air and I’m starting to feel it too.

President Obama ran on a promise of change that reminded us of the power of everyday people working together towards a better future. He tapped into the nation’s hopes and dreams to help us imagine a nation free of the last 8 year’s policies of division and fear.

This moment marks a new day for America. But I wonder if this moment rings true for everybody.

Franklin D. Roosevelt once talked about the Four Freedoms that all humans around the world should enjoy. One of these freedoms is freedom from fear. If we are to value his words and the message of hope and community that President Obama espoused during his Presidential campaign, then perhaps it’s time for us to take a deep look at the state of immigration in this nation.

For many of immigrants, the last 8 years have been marked by scapegoating, hate, and fear. I remember hearing stories of immigrant mothers sending their children to school with emergency information in case they were caught by ICE authorities and deported. I read countless stories of immigrant workers that were exploited by their employers. I remember the stories of immigrant detainees that were allowed to die in imprisonment.

Immigrant communities have always been a part of our nation. And they have played a large part in Obama’s path to the presidency. If Obama is to realize the promise of hope and change in this country and if he is to fight for the right for all communities to live free from fear, then let's call on him to work to transform our immigration system so that workers don’t fear raids, families stay together, and no one lives in the shadows.

Tomorrow morning, on January 21st, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a project of the Center for Community Change, will be hosting a day of action to celebrate A New Day For America and a new hope for immigration reform. We are asking President Obama to fix our country’s broken immigration system with a moratorium on the raids and comprehensive immigration reform. I encourage you to join me in this march.

Visit http://www.anewdayforimmigration.org for more information.

Immigration Raids at Casa Fiesta

Corinne Ramey — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:22:42 -0400

When I was a student at Oberlin College, Casa Fiesta was one of the most popular hangout spots in that small, Midwestern town. Best known for their margaritas, fajitas, and endless supply of free tortilla chips, the Mexican restaurant was always packed with students, townspeople, and professors. It was located just kitty-corner from the house where I lived, so close that sometimes I would always catch a whiff of frying garlic and onions when I walked to and from class.

But that may all have changed at about 11 am this Wednesday, when Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officials made a series of arrests at the Casa Fiesta in Oberlin and in Casa Fiestas in Ashland, Fremont, Norwalk, Oregon, Sandusky, Vermillion and Youngstown, Ohio. Overall, 58 immigrants were arrested, although three women were eventually let go. However, they will still be required to appear before a federal immigration judge. According to ICE spokesman Greg Palmore, the immigrants -- all Mexican citizens -- are likely to be deported as soon as possible.

The Casa Fiesta arrests are just the latest in what has become a disturbing pattern of workplace raids by ICE. In Postville, Iowa, this past May, ICE arrested over 400 workers at a kosher meat plant, Agriprocessors, Inc. Other raids have been carried out at restaurants, plants, and workplaces in Texas, California, and across the nation. According to Reuters, "ICE said it had made 949 criminal arrests in worksite-related raids since October 2007, including the arrests of 105 owners, managers, supervisors or human resources employees who face charges ranging from harboring to knowingly hiring illegal aliens."

However, the impact of these raids extends way beyond the 949 arrests. They impact the lives of the immigrants' families, children, and homes. They extend to the children who fear ICE arrests when they go to school, families who are impacted by raids for life, and to the communities where they live. As David Leopold, a Cleveland immigration lawyer, said of the Casa Fiesta workers, "These people are not criminals. The worst thing you can say about them is they came here to feed their families."

Within these communities, both immigrants and non-immigrants have felt the effects of the raids. Restaurants have been shut down and family businesses have closed. Churches have lost their members, and businesses and factories struggle for workers. For example, after the Iowa raids the town struggled to recover:

The tiny northeast town was home to the nation's largest kosher meatpacker, which recently lost nearly half of its work force after a huge raid by immigration officials. The raid sent shockwaves through the town, which has served as a multicultural model...But after the raid, many here are wondering if the future of the town is in jeopardy. Some 2,300 people lived in Postville before the raid; about half of them were Hispanic.

Our country is economically reliant on immigrants. Immigrants pay taxes -- between 1996 and 2003 alone, undocumented immigrants alone contributed nearly $50 billion in taxes -- and contribute to our struggling social security system. They increase consumer demand and generate economic growth. In 2004, the expansion of Hispanic and Asian-American consumer markets was an estimated 12% of America's purchasing power. Raids like the one in Oberlin aren't just bad for the immigrants themselves or for all those college students who will be missing their Mexican food -- immigration raids are bad for the nation as a whole.

Does Everyone Matter Equally?

Sally Kohn — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:06:54 -0400

From the superdelegate process to the farm bill to the recent raid on immigrants in Postville, Iowa, elitism is rearing its nipped-and-tucked head all across America.

How else can you explain anointing a handful of Democratic party officials to have more power in the nominating process than millions of average American voters? According to CNN, each Democratic superdelegate has more power than 13,000 primary voters. So just like George Bush was able to ignore millions of people marching in the streets against the Iraq War, the superdelegates are free to replace the will of the voters with their own whims. The idea that, like father, superdelegates know best, is anti-democratic and elitist.

The farm bill passed by Congress last week is no different. The New York Times notes that Safia Ali, a 25-year-old mother of five in Somalia, can no longer afford rice or wheat or powdered milk. The price of food commodities has skyrocketed in recent months, setting off a global food crisis. Safi Ali has not eaten in a week and her family is starving. The response of the richest nation in the world? Pass a food bill that increases cash subsidies to the very same large, corporate-owned farms that are manipulating crop prices in the first place. Between 1998 and 2007, profits of the agribusiness giant Cargill increased nearly 1000% --- from $280 million to a whopping $2.3 billion --- extorting from rising crop prices on the one hand and from taxpayer-funded farm subsidies on the other. Small family farmers in the United States and poor people here and oversees like Safia Ali are the victim’s of our government policies, not the beneficiaries. Politicians in Washington side with big business elites.

Also last week, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency raided a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, and arrested and detained at least 300 undocumented immigrants but as many as 700. Workers at the Agriprocessor meatpacking plant were slaving away under extremely oppressive conditions --- in March 2008, the plant was cited with 39 violations of workplace health and safety laws. But rather than step in and twist the hand of the corporation to clean up its act, raise and enforce a minimum wage and provide good public schools and affordable healthcare --- the kinds of things Agriprocessor’s workers and everyone in the struggling town of Postville really needs --- government agents came with guns and handcuffs to terrorize the workers. (Any close-minded nativists who would argue that undocumented immigrants are the real criminals in Postville should kindly explain when pursuing the American dream became a crime.)

As a nation, we are more concerned with the few at the top than the many struggling at the bottom. It’s not just politicians who are guilty here. The majority of Americans are more concerned about Angelina Jolie’s shrinking waistline than Safia Ali starving in Somalia. Does Angelina Jolie matter more? Do the superdelegates? The corporate titans?

While donor-driven politics and celebrity-driven culture have always privileged the elite few over the many, it’s getting worse. It’s no longer simply that the rich and famous are worthier than everyone else. Increasingly, everyone else is worthless. The rise in reality television shows can be attributed to a growing sense, thank you Madison Avenue, that you only matter if you’re famous so now everyone wants to be. The staggering rise in CEO salaries, while real wages for most Americans have been stagnant or even decreased, is the direct result of the belief that the rich deserve to get richer at the expense of shared prosperity.

The plight of Safia Ali and the undocumented immigrants in Postville and even the discounted Democratic primary voters is not the result of a lack of hard work or personal responsibility, fingers we often point at those who are poor or disenfranchised in the United States. The plight of those at the bottom, a group growing bigger by the day as the economy tumbles and the middle class evaporates, comes because we think the people at the top are inherently superior --- and that elitism is cemented in our culture and in our policies.

Elitism is anti-American. When the colonists revolted against England, they were revolting against the idea that one person --- the King --- mattered more than the rest of them. And while we have stumbled gravely in our pursuit of egalitarianism --- from the very early mistreatment of American Indians to slavery to the examples above today --- the idea that we are all equally valuable and should be treated as such is emblazoned in the American story, our entrepreneurial independence alongside our deep moral commitment to be our brothers and sisters’ keeper. In the America we aspire to be, everyone matters as much as everyone else. We are all equal, interdependent and interconnected.

Undocumented immigrants have every much of a right to be in the United States as I do. That I was born on one side of the border does not make me fundamentally more deserving of the opportunities of this nation than anyone else. (In fact, arguably the fact that many immigrants have been forced to flee their home countries because of the disastrous economic and foreign policies of the United States, may argue for an even stronger claim than mine; having only ever benefited from America, I should be giving back not benefiting more.) Safia Ali, who has nowhere to which to flee, is no less deserving of food and shelter than I am, nor for that matter less deserving of a good job, a college education, or even designer clothes. And the superdelegates votes shouldn’t count more than yours or mine.

Those who are on top are not more worthy of being on top. Those who are on the bottom are not more deserving of being on the bottom. But until we really embrace the idea of inherent and equal human worth, in our hearts and our souls --- and not just among the people we know personally but for everyone, worldwide, no matter their situation --- the community values that America represents will remain a good idea on paper but warped and elusive in practice.

Immigration Officials Turn to Schoolyard Bullying

Corinne Ramey — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:04:08 -0400

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in California have stooped to a new, almost unbelievable low: intimidating schoolchildren.

Allow me to state the obvious: schools should be safe. And they should feel safe for the kids, their parents, and the teachers and staff who work there. But for the students at four Oakland schools and Berkley High School on Wednesday, school felt anything but safe. That day, rumors spread throughout the schools that ICE were nearby, possibly planning raids at the schools. Parents text-messaged their kids, warning them that ICE agents were close by so that the undocumented parents couldn't come to the schools to pick their children up. The Berkley school district became so overwhelmed with calls that they set up an automated voice message for parents, which according to the San Francisco Chronicle, stated that the administration would "not allow any child to be taken away from the school." The schools -- including Stonehurst Elementary, where immigration officials were parked across the street -- became a panic scene. Undocumented parents called friends and neighbors, asking them to pick up their children since the parents were afraid to come near the school. ICE spokespeople claimed that their intention was not to raid the schools but rather to make arrests at nearby locations.

Unfortunately, yesterday's Berkley and Oakland cases are not isolated incidents. ICE agents have routinely engaged in intimidation of workers -- both documented and undocumented -- and students. In Tucson, Arizona, a 17-year-old undocumented student at Catalina High Magnet School was arrested for possession of marijuana. Police came to the school, and then called the Border Control. When Border Control found out that the student was undocumented, they deported his father, who returned to Mexico accompanied by his wife and two sons.

The incident created an outrage in the school and community. The teenagers quoted in the Tucson Citizen article about the event state the facts that the adults around were apparently missing. "We think that shouldn't be allowed, because school is where we're supposed to be safe," said 16-year-old Mario Portillo. "No matter if you're an illegal alien, you have the right to an education." Eighteen-year-old Jorge Guerrero asked the somewhat obvious question, "How can we learn if we've scared the Border Patrol is going to come for us?" Araceli Sanchez, 14, said that she knew that the arrested student and his family were undocumented, but said that "he was just another student." And it was up to 14-year-old Ener Lopez to state the really obvious. "We should be safe in school," he said. Following a protest by more than 100 students in front of the Tucson Police Department headquarters, Tucson police have said that they will no longer call U.S. Border Patrol into schools or churches.

More recently, ICE agents in the raided 11 Taqueria El Balazo restaurants in the Bay Area, detaining 63 immigrant workers, including two 17-year-olds and a 15-year-old. Given the recent May Day protests by immigrant rights groups, it's unlikely that the timing of the raid was a mere coincidence. As Larisa Casillas, director of Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition, said, “I don’t think it is a coincidence that this happened a day after May Day. It wreaks havoc on the community." She sees the target as a strategic one. “When they hit a popular taqueria with a series of raids it sends a message, and our message back is that we need immigration reform. These are people who are working and contributing to the economic health of our region,” she said.

Casillas, I think, hits the nail on the head. Not only are these incidents -- both the school and taqueria raids -- likely part of a purposeful campaign to intimidate the Latino community, but in both cases the intimidation is bad not just for undocumented workers but for their communities at large. School raids cause widespread fear among students, parents, and teachers, and, at the very least, cause serious disruption in the ability of students to learn and feel safe in what should be a guaranteed safe environment. And, as Casillas says, immigrants -- even undocumented ones -- are vital to the economies of the regions where they live.

Immigrants make up 15% of the civilian workforce, and account for half of the labor force growth in the past 10 years, according to a White House report. They pay a significant amount of taxes and produce goods and provide services that are vital to the American middle class. They're vital to keeping our social security system afloat, pumping $6-7 billion a year into the Social Security system, most of which they can't claim because of their immigrant status. According to the same White House report, immigrants increase the earnings and productivity of native-born workers a significant amount, estimated at $37 billion a year. The bottom line is, decent, humane treatment of immigrants isn't just good for immigrants -- it's good for the current and aspiring American middle class.

This kind of conduct by ICE is incredibly destructive to families as well. If schools continue to be a scene of ICE intimidation, undocumented parents are less likely to send their native-born children to school, fearing that raids could result in families being deported. With immigrant families already being hit hard by the current recession and recent crackdowns on undocumented workers -- according to a recent Times article, remittances to Latin America have dropped significantly, yet another sign of the economic squeeze on immigrant families -- worries about deportation because of their kids attending schools are the last thing that immigrant families need.

Notably, it's not all bad. When reading news reports of the raids, in between all the eye-rolling at the fairly inane things that ICE agents said, I've been impressed by how supportive mayors and local officials have been of immigrant rights. "In my view, that is the ugly side of government," Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums said. "No way children should ever be treated to that kind of harassment and fear." Mayor Dellum said that Oakland should be free from raids. "As a sanctuary city," Dellums said, "we're all in unison. We don't want this type of intimidation. Immigrants are human beings, and need to be dealt with respect." Vice Mayor Larry Reid said that local officials were never told about the raids. "ICE just rolls in and tells our police department after the fact," he said. "The students are upset and crying. The school's administration said some of the kids are very shook up."

These local officials get it. When will ICE and the Border Control figure out that schoolyard bullying isn't an effective -- or humane, for that matter -- route to immigration reform?

The War On Immigrants

Sally Kohn — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:27:34 -0400

When I hear the word “raid” these days, the first thing I think of us the war in Iraq. Something like, “US Forces Raid Shi’ite Stronghold of Sadr City.” I have images of American forces going home by home, banging down the doors, threatening anyone they find and taking away the supposed evil-doers.

But then sometimes I hear the word “raid” mentioned in my own backyard and the frightening thing is, the scenario isn’t all that different.

On Wednesday, federal agents backed by our precious tax dollars, banged down the doors of poultry plants in New York, Texas, Florida, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia, threatening anyone they could find, dragging away parents without notifying their families and, all told, arresting more than 300 undocumented immigrants.

Their crime? Leaving their homes and everything they’ve ever known in search of opportunity for their families and crossing the treacherous desert boarder between the US and Mexico or overstaying their visas in order to work long hours for low pay at a poultry processing plant where, according to an expose from the Charlotte Observer worker protections are lax and severe injuries are common. The Charlotte Observer series is littered with stories and images of workers crippled by their duties, and stories of management cutting corners not only on safety but on appropriate medical treatments when problems do arise.

Remind me who the evil-doers are?

From the SWAT team raids on immigrants to the para-military Minutemen staking out the US-Mexico border, we’re turning our nation into a war zone in violation of every decent principle on which our nation was founded. Many Americans are not immigrants — Natives who were already here, those who were forced here. But many of us, including most of today’s anti-immigrant voices I’m afraid, are the descendents of generations who sought America’s shores as a refuge from religious intolerance or famine, who saw in our stars and stripes the twinkle of possibility that tomorrow might be better than today. The American dream may be the most powerful promise in the world. It is plainly un-American to hoard it for ourselves and deny it to those who seek it as our ancestors once did.

In the community called America, everyone is included. In the community called America, we treat everyone with dignity and respect. In the community called America, we are all striving to build a better America together. Last time I checked, we were proud to stand together for this vision, rather than breaking down doors and breaking apart families for daring to share the same hopes and dreams. Raids against immigrants are demeaning to the America I know, our moral character and community values. It’s time we end these stupid and violent raids for good.

You can pledge your support for fair and just immigration reform at www.BuildingAmericaTogether.org

Groups Nationwide Mobilize To "reverse The Raid" On Student Aid

Toby Chaudhuri — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0400

WASHINGTON -- Responding to public outrage about higher student loan rates and the rising cost of college, a wide range of organizations and activists representing millions of students, parents and recent college graduates are pushing to repeal recent cuts to student aid programs and increase supports to pay for college. Millions of people nationwide will pay significantly more in interest on their student loans because of new measures recently approved by Congress effective July 1.

Using the slogan "Reverse the Raid," many organizations are mobilizing the public in different ways around the rising cost of college. Groups are reaching out to their members, releasing reports, launching online campaigns, communicating with the public, and holding events at dozens of college campuses and in hundreds of communities this year to ensure that the more than 18 million Americans who seek to pursue a college education can afford it, according to organizers.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., responded to the public's concern last week by introducing legislation that cuts student loan interest rates in half. Many of the groups that called on Congress to reverse the raid on student aid today endorsed the legislation in a letter to Congress.

Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage joined Sen. Durbin and Rep. Miller on today's conference call with reporters. Borosage said the legacy of this White House and Congress is broken promises and historic funding cuts.

"Finding a way to pay for college is a difficult struggle facing millions of families across the country," said Borosage. "This issue is going to be a hassle for Congress too. Families across the country are struggling to keep up with the largest cuts to student aid in our nation's history."

Student groups like the US Student Association, the State PIRGs and Campus Progress at the Center for American Progress are building support on campuses across the country and drawing attention to college affordability issues. The State PIRGs recently released a report to members emphasizing that unmanageable student loan debt discourages graduates from pursuing careers in public service fields such as teaching or social work.

The U.S. Student Association has launched the national "Grant Aid Now!" campaign to increase grant aid, make loans manageable and reverse the raid on student aid. "Essentially, Congress is balancing the budget on the backs of students," said Jennifer Pae, USSA Vice President. "Students are organizing and mobilizing to fight these detrimental cuts to higher education and are committed to making sure members will hear our voice at the ballot box in 2006."

Rock The Vote Washington director Hans Riemer said that his group plans to use its 1 million-member e-mail list to highlight the higher education cuts in the run-up to the elections. Rock The Vote plans to educate its members, activate grassroots leaders, and run media campaigns that reach young and new voters.

"The military draft was the hot issue pulling young people out in 2004, and education could play a similar role in 2006," said Riemer.

USAction is coordinating petition drives in 25 states to get elected officials to sign a pledge to oppose further cuts in student financial aid. Major labor organizations including the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU and NEA are also communicating with their members.

The College Democrats of America and the Young Democrats of America are planning to activate their members in April and May when students hear about college and about what financial aid and loans they will need.

The House approved a measure earlier this year last month that failed to invest in a college education for America's students and families while giving breaks to the big student lenders and for-profit colleges. Congress passed a measure two months ago that slashed almost $12 billion in federal student aid to pay for massive tax breaks to millionaires, putting college further out of reach for millions of families. And earlier this year, the president proposed $1.2 billion in additional cuts to higher education programs in his FY 2007 budget.

"REVERSE THE RAID"
APRIL/MAY ACTIVITIES

--The United States Student Association launched its "Grant Aid Now!" campaign in March, and is encouraging its members to contact their congressional representatives. For more information and an Organizing Manual, visit www.usstudents.org.

--The United States Student Association's National Day of Action organized 50 campuses across the country to repeal the cuts in all student loan and grant programs and increase tax breaks for college costs.

--The Campaign for America's Future will initiate a petition campaign calling on Republicans to match their rhetoric with action and help keep college affordable on April 13. www.ourfuture.org.

--Working America will be sending information on cuts in student aid to their members, and urging them to contact members of Congress.

--The minority on the House Education Committee will hold a congressional online hearing starting on April 17 inviting the public to outline the impact of the rising cost of a college education.

--College Democrats of America holds a National Canvass Day on April 29 at college campuses across the country to address college affordability and to register students to vote.

--Campus Progress at the Center for American Progress will hold events on college campuses across the country to raise awareness of student debt and college affordability, and will feature original pieces by student journalists examining the issues of student debt and college affordability on its web publication, www.CampusProgress.org.

--Young Democrats of America kicks off its campaign around college affordability on April 1 at campuses across the country.

--College Democrat State Leaders from across the country will be meeting in New Orleans on April 22nd to plan a national campaign to Reverse the Raid on Student Aid. There will be state and local rallies and events all spring, in coordination with the state and local Democratic Party, supporting the campaign to Reverse the Raid on Student Aid.

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