Vol. 71/No. 25      June 25, 2007

St. Rose of Lima, JUNTA for Progressive Action, and Unidad Latina en Accion, called the mobilization early that morning.

Norma, whose cousins and husband were grabbed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, addressed the crowd, reported the New Haven Register. “I feel this pain deep, deep, deep in my heart," she said. "I appreciate your support and help for all of us to get through this."

The mass and rally were the first of several events planned by immigrant rights supporters here in solidarity with those arrested. Another action has been called for Saturday, June 16.

ICE agents began the raids early Wednesday morning, lasting into late afternoon, according to residents here. The people arrested are mostly construction and restaurant workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Guinea, and Ecuador.

Residents of one raided home were woken up by loud knocks on the door as agents surrounded the house, the New Haven Register reported. The cops ordered everyone, including four children, into the living room. “We asked what was going on, and they kept shouting for us to shut up,” said Samy, a mother of two. Everyone but the children and their mothers were taken from the house.

“Legal or illegal we are all human. They try to intimidate us,” said Lydi Cortés, a resident of Fair Haven, a largely Latino neighborhood in New Haven, where most of the raids happened. “I am against the new ID card," Cortés said. "It will only give them a way to find people easier."

Two days before the raids, the New Haven Board of Aldermen voted 25-1 to create an all-purpose municipal identification card. Supporters of the program, among the first of its kind in the country, say it will help the estimated 15,000 undocumented workers in this city of 125,000 people by allowing them to open bank accounts and to give them ID to show local police when asked. Many here say approval of this program prompted the ICE raid.

ICE spokeswoman Paula Grenier denied the raids were connected to the ID program, reported the New Haven Register. "We don't conduct random operations," she said. "This was a planned fugitive operation specifically targeting those in violation of deportation orders." Only four of the 32 workers grabbed, however, had arrest warrants. In reference to the New Haven raids, Marc Raimondi, another ICE spokesman, told the New York Times, “There is truly no safe haven for fugitive aliens.”

Some view the municipal ID program, along with other laws in New Haven, as being immigrant-friendly. New Haven is among a number of cities that prohibit local police from enforcing immigration violations.

People here expressed varying views on the influx of immigrant labor into the country. “There is too much immigration," José Aviles told the Militant. "I’m not against it, but it becomes too much. I paint houses for a living and I can’t charge very much because undocumented immigrants will do it for cheaper."

“It’s inhumane," said another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, referring to the raids and deportations. "We all come out of necessity to work. This affects the children most.”

Many children have been left behind because of the arrests, reported the New Haven Register. A Nicaraguan woman, for example, was arrested in front of her 14-year-old son and held overnight in nearby Hartford.

An emergency bond hearing was set for June 13 in Hartford for 18 of the 32 workers arrested who have special needs. Supporters were planning a solidarity rally outside the federal court.

Olga Rodríguez contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
'La migra' grabs 7 in New Jersey
Immigration bill stalled in Senate
Solidarity tour held in Los Angeles for Massachusetts workers arrested by ‘la migra’
Capitalists cut wages and take away jobs, not immigrants
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