Vol. 71/No. 24      June 18, 2007

According to Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman for ICE in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, the raid targeted three “immigration fugitives” and one “criminal immigration fugitive.”

Patricia Vasquez, a representative of United Immigrants of Shelton, said, however, that at a May 24 public meeting before the Washington Human Rights Commission, residents of one of the raided apartment complexes complained of mistreatment by the landlord’s resident manager. ICE said the raid was not prompted by this hearing.

Shelton is a town of 8,700 people about 30 miles west of the state capital Olympia, on the eastern fringe of the Olympic National Forest.

These reporters talked with residents of one of the raided apartment buildings here. Most were young workers of Guatemalan origin who asked that their last names not be used for fear of persecution by the government and employers.

Around 4:00 a.m. on May 31, they said, ICE agents rattled their windows and beat on their doors. The first floor of the building is now deserted because the cops grabbed the people who lived there—13 men and 3 women. ICE said they were taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.

Juan, a worker who lives in the building, said none of the family members of those arrested knew of their relatives’ whereabouts, had not been able to reach them by phone, and did not know how to go about getting them released. ICE’s claim it was just targeting “fugitives” is a lie, Juan said. “My cousin doesn’t drive, doesn’t drink, isn’t married, and didn’t rape anybody, but they took him away anyway.”

Even though they were running out of food and were pooling diapers for their children, many people interviewed said they were afraid to leave their apartments because they may get picked up at the grocery store. Four young men were picked up at traffic checkpoints and at an AMPM convenience store, workers reported.

Kathy Reyes, who runs a Mexican store across the street from the raided apartment complex, said people have stopped patronizing her business. It’s common for landlords and building managers to call la migra when they want to get rid of immigrants, she said.

“We are not criminals, we come to do honorable work, not to beg or rob,” said Pedro, a shellfish factory worker originally from Mexico.

Most Guatemalan immigrants here work in la brocha (the brush), picking shrubs and other ornamental plants used in flower arrangements, workers said. The floral industry, now dominated by immigrants, is heavily dependent on brush known as salal, harvested in the Pacific Northwest and southwestern Canada.

An estimated 3,000-5,000 brush workers are employed in this state, according to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Most are mestizo and indigenous from Mexico and Guatemala, for whom Spanish is their second language. Many have a limited knowledge of either Spanish or English. Salal harvesting is done by hand with people working six- or seven-day weeks.

Community to Community, an immigrant rights group based in Bellingham, Washington, organizes monthly protest vigils outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, where those grabbed by la migra in Shelton and across the Northwest are being held.

Carmen Maymi-O’Reilly contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
Workers outraged at Minnesota raid
U.S. officials, employers debate new immigration bill
3,000 rally in Washington: ‘Legalize undocumented now!’
End raids, deportations! Help circulate ‘Militant’!  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home